


Sick Days

by ak47stylegirl



Series: Normal Au [1]
Category: Thunderbirds
Genre: Alternate Universe - Normal Life, Gen, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-08
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:14:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 26,290
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22172395
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ak47stylegirl/pseuds/ak47stylegirl
Summary: Normal Au - the cold that going around the school knows how to pack a punch.
Series: Normal Au [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1595989
Comments: 17
Kudos: 66





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A fic set in a Normal Au where the boys are normal like us :D I hope you enjoy this fic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit: 20/9/2020 - I edited this chapter a bit so it would fit in with the story as a whole better :D

Weekdays mornings were always busy and chaotic; everyone rushing to get ready for school or work. John had already left early this morning; catching the bus to the train station as he had a morning college lecture in the city. So it was just him and Virgil that had to make sure Alan and Gordon got up and to school on time. 

He was the one that dropped them off at school and Virgil was the one that picked them up, seeing as Virgil got off work earlier than he did. _Thought getting Alan and Gordon up and ready for school was easier said than done..._ _It would be so much easier if he didn't have to get to work himself around the same time they needed to be at school, but that was life, there was nothing you could do about it…_

"Gordon! I want you dressed for school and down in the kitchen in five minutes!" He called down the hallway to Gordon's room as he made his way to Alan's room and opened the door, "Alan, time to get up kiddo!" He called, switching the bedroom light on; making his way over to the bed and gave Alan's shoulder a little shake. "It's a school day.." 

"Scotty no…" Alan groaned, rolling over and pulling his blanket over his head. "Too bright, turn it off.."

He sighed, shaking his head as he walked over to Alan's wardrobe; grabbing out the kid's uniform for the day. _Why was it so difficult to get little brothers up in the morning? Mornings weren't that bad..._

"I want to see you up and in the kitchen in five minutes, understand?" He ordered as he left the room to check that Gordon was actually getting ready, leaving the light on. 

His seven-year-old brother only groaned in reply… 

\---

"Gordon!" He called, knocking on Gordon's door, "are you ready-" 

" I'm ready, don't get your breeches in a twist..." Gordon said as he came out into the hallway, fully dressed in his high school uniform. "See, I'm dressed and look quite good I might add…" Gordon grinned smugly, admiring himself in the hallway mirror. 

He rolled his eyes, _honestly, what was it with teenagers? He wasn't that bad as a teenager, was he? Oh, he sure hoped not…_

"Just make sure you got everything.." He sighed, rubbing his temple, feeling a stress headache coming on. "I don't want to hear from your teachers that you forgot your books or your pencil case, again.." 

"One time! That was one time!" 

\---

He made his way to the kitchen, spotting Virgil at the stove; the smell of pancakes reaching his nose. "Hmmm those smells good Virg…" He grinned at his brother but paused; raising an eyebrow in confusion as he noticed that Virgil was ruching for some reason. "What's the hurry?" 

Virgil sighed, flipping one last pancake on to a plate, "my boss just rang, someone called in sick unexpectedly, so they need someone to stand in for them..." Virgil explained as he turned the stove off, covering the pancakes with a tea towel before ruching to grab his car keys and bag. "So I gotta go right now.." 

"Oh, okay…" He nodded, following his brother to their garage, where both his and Virgil's cars were parked. "Well, I guess have a good day then..and drive safely please!" He called out to Virgil, standing in the doorway of the laundry that joined the garage to the house. 

"You too!" Virgil called back with a grin as he backed his jeep out of the garage and on to the driveway. "and of course! Who do you think I am?!"

He chuckled before realising the time, making his way back to the kitchen with speed. He scowled when he saw that the kitchen was empty. _Where were those two?!_ He thought looking around the living area for his little brothers; they _should have been in here half-finished their breakfast by now…_

That was when Gordon choose to stroll into the room, "where's Virgil?" Gordon asked, his nose leading him to the pancakes. "ohhh, pancakes.." 

"He had to go to work early.." he explained with a sigh, relieved that at least one of his brothers was dressed and ready to go. "eat up while I see what taking Alan so long, you need to be at school in twenty minutes, or you're going to be late.."

\---

What he found when he got to Alan's room filled him with frustration, _and he'll be honest, a little bit of anger as well as they just didn't have the time for this! "_ Alan! You're not even up yet?!" He scowled, his eyes wide with disbelief. _He had been expecting to find Alan up and maybe having trouble getting his school uniform on, the kid was only seven after all, but he was for sure not expecting this!_

Alan groaned, hugging his blanket and stuff toy tighter. 

"You're going to be late for school if you don't get up now!" He frowned as he walked into the room, grabbing Alan's school bag and started going through it; checking that everything was there and putting whatever was taken out last night back in. "And you're going to make us late as well! I got to get to work too, you know!" 

"come on! get up!" He walked over to the bed, pulling the blanket away from Alan. "I'm not writing you a late note if you end up making us late, so come on! Up you get!"

"No!" Alan cried, pulled the blanket back over his head, "Go away!" 

He pinches his nose in frustration, forcing himself to take a deep breath, "what is going on with you today?" He wondered, his hands sitting on his hips; glaring down at blanket cocoon on the bed. 

"I'm not repeating this again, Alan! Get up now!" He pulled Alan's blanket entirely off the bed this time, making Alan cry out in surprise at the sudden loss of his blanket and it's warmth.

"Give that back!" Alan cried, trying to reach for the discarded blanket but not being able to reach without getting up, "I wanna sleep, don't feel well…" Alan whimpered, curling into a ball; his stuff toy being hugged tightly to his chest.

He frowned, _on the one hand, Alan could be telling the truth, and he wasn't actually feeling well, or he could be faking to get out of school, which he has done before, so…_

"You think I'm going to fall for that one again, kiddo?" He asked unimpressed, crossing his arms in front of his chest, but he leaned down to test Alan's forehead for a fever just in case. _And Just as he thought, no fever._ "You don't have a fever, and you don't look sick, so come on, up you get.." 

"But Scotty..," Alan groaned as he sat up, crossing his arms with a pout. "I really don-"

"No buts, Alan!" He said firmly as he made his way out of the room, "I want you dressed and in the kitchen in five minutes, do you understand me?"

All he got in reply was a sullen pouting nod.

**\---**

_He really hasn't been lying when he said he wasn't feeling well; he really wasn't feeling too good._ His throat was hurting slightly, and his nose was stuffy. 

Virgil had cooked breakfast for everyone before quickly heading off to his job at the local mechanic shop. _Which he was expected to eat but he really wasn't feeling too hungry, but he didn't want to disappoint Virgil and Scott was already not happy with him, he didn't want to make him more unhappy._

So he ate about half of his plate before Scott realised the time and hurried them out the door and into his car.

They did end up being a bit late to school, and Scott was honest when he said he wasn't writing a late note, so he got told off by his teacher for being late, in front of the whole class…

_He remembers thinking ' **this day couldn't get any worse'** why did he have to jinx it?_ He thought as he laid his head down on his desk. Around the second class of the day, he had started to feel progressively worse. 

It all started with a little sniffle, just one little sniffle that changed into a couple, his nose starting to drip and drip. So much that he had to grab a couple of tissues from the teacher's desk every so often when sniffling would not stop it. 

His head started to ache as well, pressure building in his sinuses. His sniffles have gotten thicker and louder, his nose beginning to clog but weirdly was still dripping slightly. He had to use the tissues to blow his nose as well as wipe it now. 

It was starting to reach it's worse around morning tea break time. His nose was an irritated pinkish-red now and completely blocked. And he was starting to really sound like he was obviously unwell, his speech getting that nasally stuffed up sound.

He had started carrying around tissues in his pocket as he had begun to sneeze every ten minutes or so. And no matter how much he blows his nose, it would always reclog straight away every time. 

His head was really hurting as well now, so much that he just didn't have an appetite for his morning tea, plus his stomach had started to churn as well, making him feel even more horrible.

A cough had started to develop as the day went on, his throat feeling more sore and raw. He had started to feel impossibility cold despite the warm day, so he put on his winter jumper. 

His nose was now killing him now, He was in his fifth class of the day, and _all he wanted was to go home…_ His nose was hurting so much from the constant abuse, as he rubbed, scrubbed and blew his nose.

But he couldn't leave it alone as he constantly had to sniffle and they were now wet frequent loud sniffles as he tried to desperately stop himself from sneezing.

Every sneeze was coming nearly every two minutes or less, and now when he blew his nose, he was soaking the tissues through. His nose was a bright irritated red now and constantly damp as his nose seems to run and run, but still never seeming to unblock itself. His nose was so sensitive now as well; the littlest irritation could send him into a sneezing frenzy.

He was so…so tired, so exhausted, his head was hurting an unbearable amount with how blocked up he was. Right now, he was so close to breaking down; he _wanted this to end… he wanted home, he wanted relief from the pains in his sinuses! He wanted his big brothers! He wanted to sleep; he_ thought as his eyes slowly slipped shut, the lesson and classroom starting to disappear around him. 

"Alan…Alan!" His teacher was suddenly by his side, looking down at him with concern evident in her eyes. He lifted his head slowly to look at her, his eyes watery and irritated. 

"Are you feeling okay dear? You have been acting off all day…" 

He shook his head with a groan, sniffling before sneezing into his palm, having run out of tissues a little while ago and haven't had the chance to get up to get more. His hand came away covered in snot, making him groan again. And then another sneeze snuck up on him, this time he couldn't catch it, and it sprayed all over his desk and down his front…

A collaborative ' _Ewww'_ when through the classroom, making him want to start crying there and then from embarrassment. He was shaking and shivering, trying to keep himself from crying the tears that were already present in his eyes. _Which was really hard when he could feel everybody in the whole class looking at him, laughing at him…_

"Class, cut it out, or you'll all get detention!" His teacher yelled, frowning at the class before walking over to the tissues box, grabbing it and walking back over to his desk, pulling a couple of tissues out. "Here dear…" his teacher handed him the tissues which he used to wipe his snotty nose and hands, trying to clean up the mess he had made. 

He startled slightly as he felt His teacher feel his forehead, she frowned, "You have a fever, you need to go home and rest…" his teacher looked over to one of the other students, one that hadn't been laughing at him "Fermat, can you accompany Alan down to the sickbay?" 

His teacher gave him the tissue box, which he hugged close to his chest as he and Fermat walk to the sickbay. He waited in one of the sick bays chairs as the school nurses were busy with lots of other kids who looked just as sick as him. 

It was about five minutes of waiting later when a nurse kneeled down in front of him, giving him a gentle smile. "Hello sweetheart, you're not feeling very well either, huh?" 

He nodded weakly, coughing into his elbow. 

"Okay, let's see what your temperature is…" the nurse put the thermometer in his ear and waited a couple of seconds before taking it out, "hmmm, yep that's a fever alright…" the nurse sighed, standing up. "Come on, let's get you laying down on a bed and ring someone to pick you up, okay?" 

He was lead over to one of the sickbay beds, which was not anything special. Just a foam mattress and a pillow, but it felt like heaven as he laid down, his shoes on the floor next to the bed and his tissue box next to him. His eyes slipped closed. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! :D

He was busy at work when his phone went off, the caller’s Id being Alan’s and Gordon’s school. _Which never meant anything good he has learnt._

_He really hoped this wasn’t a call about one of his brother’s misbehaving, heaven knows those two can get up to mischief,_ he through shaking his head, a slight smile on his lips. _Those two were a class act, he’ll give them that…_

“Hello, this is Scott Tracy…” he answered, holding his phone to his ear as he walked over to a private corner, giving his coworkers a signal that he was going to be a minute. “What is the pleasure of this call?”

“Hello, Mr Tracy, I’m one of the nurses at Alan’s school..” His smile dropped, worry starting to gather in his gut.

_Those words always filled him with dread, it meant something happened to one of his brothers and seeing as the nurse had said Alan’s school, he was assuming it was Alan._

His mind flashed back to this morning, where Alan was complaining of feeling sick, and guilt started to build up in his chest. _Was Alan actually telling the truth this morning? And he didn’t listen?_

“Alan came into the sickbay a little while ago with a fever, his teacher having sent him here..” the nurse explained to him, “he’s looking visually unwell, sneezing and coughing constantly. In the time he has been here he has gone through nearly half a box of tissues and that not including the one he brought with him from class…”

Guilt was overwhelming him as he listened to the nurse, his heart hurting more and more for his baby brother. “Okay…okay, I’m assuming you want me to come and pick him up?” He asked, holding his phone with his shoulder as he started to pack his things up, mouthing to his coworkers ‘sick child’ so they knew what was going on.

“Yes, he really isn’t in any state to be anywhere but in bed..” the nurse answered, “this horrible cold has been going around the whole school for weeks, taking kids out like flies, especially the younger ones…”

He grimaced at the mental image, _this cold sounded really bad._ “Would I be able to talk to Alan?” He asked as he clocked out early, the clock reading 11:45am. He grabbed his car keys and waved his coworkers goodbye half-heartedly, heading down to his car.

“Of course, ” he heard the nurse put the phone down and after a minute or two someone picked it up, their breathing sounding laboured and congested.

“Scoddy?” A little voice sniffled, sound absolutely without a doubt, sick as can be. His heart broke at the voice, wanting nothing more than to give his baby brother a hug and apologise for not realising he was actually feeling sick.

“Hey sweetheart…” he said gently as he opened his car door, getting into the driver’s seat but not turning the car on yet, “I heard you’re feeling sick, is that true?” _He didn’t need to hear Alan’s answer to know that it was true, anyone with ears could tell Alan was sick._

“Yea-“ Alan sniffled, sounding really wet and drippy “Y-yeah, I don’t b-beel rea-“ Alan’s breathing hitched, a sneeze coming on, “r-really g-goo-“ a loud wet sneeze echoed through the phone, followed by a miserable groan and a damp sounding nose blow.

His heart just hurt at the sound, _oh, his poor baby…_

“I..Wadt..h-hobe!” Alan whimpered, sounding like he was the verge of crying and he seemed even more horribly stuffed up now. “I…I don’t beel w-w-wel-“ another explosive sneeze echoed through the phone, followed by another and another and another. Each sounding wetter and more out of control.

‘Okay dear, that’s enough you need to go lay back down now..’ he heard the nurse say to Alan before speaking to him again, “as you can obviously hear, he’s really is not well, he needs to be home and in bed. We can give him some Panadol to try to lower his fever, but we need permission from a guardian or parent first..”

He sighed, leaning his head against his steering wheel, “You got my permission, I’ll be there as soon as I can” He said before hanging up, his voice slightly choked.

_Hearing Alan sound so…so unwell and upset, hurt so badly. He was feeling so guilty right now, he should have taken the time to listen to Alan instead of focusing on how they were late. What kind of parent/guardian didn’t notice their kid was sick?_

_Dad or Mum would have noticed, but they weren’t around anymore, it was just him that was left to look after his brothers… even though it has been four years since they lost them, at times like this, it seemed like only yesterday that the car crash happened._

He sighed again, straightening up and blinked a couple of tears out of his eyes before sending out a quick text to Virgil that he only needed to pick Gordon up today, that Alan was sick and he was going to pick him up now.

The reply was almost instantaneous, ‘okay, thanks for letting me know and poor Allie..’ Virgil add a sad emoji at the end of his text.

With that taken care of, he put his seatbelt on and started the car up. He reversed out of his parking spot and turned his car towards the road.

———

He pulled up to the School at around 12:20pm and parked his car in the parking lot. He locked his car before heading into the school and to the sickbay. As he entered, he could see what the nurse had meant by kids dropping like flies.

_There were so many kids in here, some looking sicker than others._ Most of them were in the six to ten age range, with a couple of teenagers thrown in.

“Ah, Mr Tracy..” a nurse noticed him, the same nurse that had spoken to him on the phone. “Alan is this way…” he was lead into a side room, which was darker than the other room and filled with beds. _Nearly every one of them was filled._

“It’s crazy, I know…” the nurse sighed, seeing his slightly horrified look. “This virus been as I said to you on the phone, going around the school for weeks and it still not easing up” the nurse explained, “once the virus takes hold, it seems to last for weeks on end..”

He grimaced, _this cold virus was seeming worse and worse. It was just plain alarming to him to see how many kids were sick._ The nurse stopped at a bed that held a sleeping little blond boy.“We had someone grab his stuff for him, so you don’t have to worry about that..” Tissues were mostly in a bin by the bed, but some were scattered around Alan. There was a tissue box laying on the bed next to Alan, which was nearly empty.

His heart contracted at the sight as he came up to the bed, getting a good look at Alan. Even in the low light, he could tell that Alan was paler than usual, his cheeks puffy and his nose was bright irritated red, obviously swollen and congested.

_Oh, baby, you’re really not well, are you?_ he thought as he sat down on the edge of the bed. “Allie…” he whispered, gently rubbing Alan’s shoulder, “time to wake up sweetie…”

Alan blinked his eyes opened and looked up at him with unfocused, watery red eyes. “Scoddy?” Alan asked weakly, sitting up slightly with a sniffle as he rubbed at his leaky nose.

_He really sounds way worse in person,_ he thought as he looked at Alan with sad eyes. _A doctors appointment was definitely on the agenda tomorrow…_

“Hey baby…” he said softly, giving Alan a comforting little smile as he ran his hand through Alan’s hair, “it’s time to go home..”

Alan nodded weakly as he sat up slowly, reaching down for his shoes but froze as a couple of big messy wet sneezes caught him by surprise. Alan reached blindly for the tissues as a couple more sneezes exploding out of him with vile strength, one hand trying to cover the sneeze while the other desperately trying to grab a tissue.

By the end of the fit, Alan was shivering and shaking, a compleat mess of snot and germs. Alan’s eyes were even wetter than before, tears running down his face. _He looked so miserable…_

“Oh baby, you’re really feeling under the weather, aren’t you?” He said gently, running his hand through Alan’s hair as his baby brother tried to clean himself up. 

Alan nodded with a damp clogged up sounding sniffle, looking exhausted. Alan’s nose was even redder now, and there was a little stream of thick mucus leaking out one of Alan’s nostrils, not stopping no matter how much Alan sniffled or wiped it. 

“Let me help you with your shoes, you just relax, okay?” he said gently as he stood up, grabbing Alan’s shoes and bending down to put them on Alan’s little feet while Alan watched him, sniffling before blowing his nose. It wasn’t a pleasant sound, it sounded just as wet and damp as it looked.

He sighed, his heart hurting so much for his baby brother, “I’m sorry I didn’t notice you were feeling so bad, baby…” he said once he was done tying Alan’s shoelaces, looking up at Alan with an apologetic look. “And I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you when you tried to tell me…”

Alan sniffled, rubbing his nose a couple times, looking at him with tired watery eyes “Id’s ohay…” Alan mumbled softly before coughing into his elbow. Alan shuttered, groaning in misery.

He frowned and sighed, standing back up and picked up Alan’s bag and threw it over his shoulder. Before leaning forward and picking Alan up, supporting him on his hip and giving Alan a little hug as he did so…

Alan’s head collapsed tiredly against his shoulder, his arms wrapping around his neck, his eyes seeming to start to flicker between open and shut. “Let get you home, shall we?” he whispered softly, kissing Alan’s temple. 

He quickly signed Alan out school and walked out of the sickbay, heading toward his car. Alan was sniffling into his neck, and now that he was holding Alan, he could feel the heat radiating from him. _Yeah, his baby brother did have a fever…_

_He would have to stop by the chemist on the way home to get some much needed cold supplies, he knew this cold would be shared around the family. It was a bit unavailable, so he wanted to be ready._

_Though there goes the new paint job he wanted to get for his car,_ he thought bittersweetly as he unlocked his car, putting Alan’s school bag in the boot. _Though it wasn’t a question which was more important to him, Alan would always come first, his brothers always came first._

He opened the backseat door and gently lowered Alan into his booster seat. Alan groaned, looking up at him with tired, sleepy eyes. “you’re okay, Allie?” He asked, giving Alan a little smile as he made sure Alan’s seat restraints were tight and secure.

Alan shook his head weakly, coughing a couple of time into his elbow before pulling away with a groan. “By head hurts…” Alan said, his nose dripping, making Alan sniffle and sniffle in a futile attempt to stop it from running. “and by tummy hurts and my dose hurts too!” 

“shhh, I know…” He said gently, brushing Alan’s fringe away from his forehead. “I know you’re feeling terrible Allie, i’ll get you to bed soon, promise baby…” he tenderly kissed Alan’s forehead. “we just have to stop at the chemist quickly on the way home, okay?” 

Alan’s shoulders slumped in disappointment, a pout on his lips “..Ohay…” Alan nodded with a shiver before quickly grabbing out a used tissue from his pocket and sneezing to it a couple times and using it to wipe at his nose as well, the dampness of the tissue obviously irritating Alan’s nose more. Alan groaned in misery. 

He frowned, _he should have grabbed some tissues for Alan back at the sickbay, so he had some fresh ones,_ he thought with a concerned frown. _Did he have any tissues in his car? Wait! Yes, he did! He was sure he had some in his glove box!_

He closed the back seat door and walked around to the driver’s side and got in. He reached over to the glove box and grabbed a small packet of travel tissues out of it. “Here, use them if you need them, okay?” He said as he handed Alan the packet of tissues.

Alan nodded, already opening them and using them on his sensitive runny, drippy nose. He sighed sadly, turning back around and turning the car on, keeping an eye on Alan through his car’s rearview mirror as he backed out. As they turned on to the main road, Alan started sneezing and sneezing, with no end in sight, the tissues begin to dwindle with each sniffle, nose blow and sneeze.

_At this rate, he would have to buy about five whole boxes of tissues…_


	3. Chapter 3

**Scott pov**

He pulled into the chemist parking lot and parked his car before turning around to check on Alan, who had gone quiet a couple of minutes before…the sight that met him was adorable but also heartbreaking. Alan was half asleep, his eyes flickering between open and close, his head leaning against the head support of his booster seat.

_Alan did not look well or even like he was having a semi peaceful sleep, the poor kid was pale and shivering, even though it was a decently warm day,_ He thought as he got out of the car, walking around to Alan's side.

Alan stirred as he opened the car door, "Home?" Alan asked with a sniffle as he rubbed his eyes with his fist, his nose dripping.

"Sorry baby, but no…" he said softly as he undid Alan's seat restraints, "I had to get a couple of things from the chemist, remember?" He said, grabbing a tissue and gently dabbed way the dampness under Alan's red, irritated nose.

Disappointment filled Alan's eyes, "Oh, yeah…" Alan mumbled, coughing into his arm, "do I haf-haf-"Alan breathing hitched, his eyes widening in panic as he frantically reached for a tissue. "D-do I haf-hafe t-" Alan sneezed, missing half of the tissue and creating quite a mess. Alan groaned.

"Oh baby…" he muttered softly with a grimace as he reached for a tissue, heading it to Alan. "You got the sniffles really bad, don't you?" He ran his hand through Alan's soft blond hair.

Alan nodded with a groan, as he cleaned himself up, blowing his nose. "Do I hafe to code with you?" Alan asked weakly, looking up at him with his sad puppy eyes. "I don't…I don't feel good…"

"I know sweetheart…" He sighed heavily, caressing Alan's cheek, "But unfortunately yes, I can't leave you in the car, Alan," he explained gently as he lifted Alan into his arms, resting the kid on his hip. "it won't take long to get the stuff we need, okay?" He said softly as he locked his car and started heading towards the chemist entrance.

Alan only groaned, burying his face into the base of his neck.

**————**

"The poor dear caught that monster bug, huh?" The cashier comment as she started scanning their items. "That bug has been spreading like wildfire…"

"Yeah…" He nodded as he grabbed his wallet out of his pocket, being careful not to drop Alan. _Allie looked so sick and out of it._ "It does seem to be a pretty bad cold…"

"Bad would be an understatement…" the cashier said as she scanned all the boxes of tissues he had grabbed, "have you seen the news? A couple of people were admitted to hospital with it; apparently it can develop into a pretty serious sinus infection.."

"No, I haven't heard that before…." He said as his grip on Alan tightening slightly, his worry starting to get worse. Alan sniffled into his neck, sounding all clogged up and congested.

_It was official, the second he gets home he was calling the doctor and making an appointment for tomorrow…_

"It's really is horrible.." the cashier muttered as she started to put everything into his shopping bag. "A friend of mine thinks it may be a new strain of cold virus, as it seems to be a mix between the flu and a cold, whatever it is, it is plainly horrible.."

He grimaced slightly as he pulled his savings card out, wishing that the cashier would stop talking. _He was already worried enough, thank you very much…_

_One of those things he was worried about was…could he even afford all this?_ He thought as he tapped his card. _He really hoped nothing unexpected come out without him knowing…_

He sighed in relief as the card machine flashed green, accepting his payment. _It was time to get his baby brother home and into bed now; he_ thought as he exited the chemist, baby brother and shopped bag in hand.

**————**

**Alan pov**

_He wasn't typically one to get carsick, but today, even the slightest bump in the road was making his already upset stomach even more unhappy,_ he thought as he took a shaking breath, trying beyond hope to keep his stomach contents in his stomach and not all over him…

_Why did they have to live out of town? Maybe if they lived closer, he wouldn't be feeling like he was going to be sick everywhere…_

"Sweetheart, you're okay?" Scott asked from the driver's seat, looking at him through the rearview mirror. Scott's eyes were filled with concern and worry.

"N-no…" He shook his head with a whimper, tears gathering in his eyes. "My tum-tu-tu-" he sniffled damply, an irritating itch building in his nose that threatened to explode into a massive sneezing fit. "My tummy hu-hur-" he couldn't stop it, a massive sneeze exploded out of him, followed by a whole fit of sneezes…

By the end, he had tears streaming down his face, and his stomach was feeling the worst he had ever felt it… _oh he didn't know if he was going to make it home without being sick at this point…_

"Oh, baby…" Scott sighed as he drove the car around a corner, turning onto a street that looks slightly more familiar than the last. "We're almost home; it's going to be okay.."

He nodded weakly with a sniffle as he wiped his nose with a tissue before collapsing back into his seat, feeling so drained of all energy. "I don't beel well…" his mouth was starting to overflow with saliva, making him feel even more nauseous.

"I know, sweetheart.." Scott said gently as he drove the car around a corner, "I know.." _the streets were starting to look more and more familiar, which meant home and his nice warm bed was all the more closer._ "Do you want me to put the windows down a bit?"

He nodded as a small burp escaped him as the car drove over a pothole, he could suddenly taste his morning tea and bits of his breakfast as well. _Oh, he really didn't feel good…_

Scott glanced back at him in concern as he lowered the windows, fresh air flooding the car. _The fresh air did help a bit but oh boy, was it a real battle right now not to be sick all over himself…_

"We're almost home baby…" Scott said softly as he drove the car around another corner, a familiar house coming into view. "Just hold on a little longer, it's alright…"

He nodded weakly with a congested sniffle before sneezing a couple more times, feeling his stomach flip with each sneeze, each time getting worse and worse.

It was ironically the little bump of turning on to their driveway that sent him over the edge, leaving him fiddling frantically with his seat restraints as the car came to a stop in their garage.

He was just able to push his door open when it all came up violently, hitting the hard ground of the garage with a splash. Tears were streaming down his face as he gagged and heaved, hanging half out of the car.

Even when he was done being sick, he couldn't bother moving from his position, hanging half out of the car. He just didn't have the motivation even to try; he just felt so horrible! he thought with a sob. 

"oh baby…" a pair of strong arms lifted him out of the car and into an embrace, cradling him gently. "come on, let's get you changed and into bed…"


	4. Chapter 4

**Scott pov**

He gently tucks Alan into bed, the kid now out of his school uniform and in his pyjamas. Alan was looking really worse for wear, his skin bleached a sickly white, while his nose was a horrible sore red colour…

Alan sniffled weakly, snuggling into his pillow as his stomach gave a sickly grumble. 

He sighed heavily at the sight, sitting down on the edge of Alan’s bed, “I’m going to go unpack the car now, okay?” He explained gently as he brushed Alan’s fringe back, leaning down to place a gentle kiss on the kid’s forehead, “I’ll be back in a little bit…” 

Alan gave a weak nodded, coughing into his pillow.

He smiled sadly at Alan as he made his way out of the room, stopping for a moment’s to turn Alan’s lights off. The only light illuminating the room and the sick little boy in bed now was Alan’s rocket nightlight and the midday sun peeking through the curtains. 

He sighed heavily as he leaned against Alan’s bedroom door, running his hands through his hair. _It was times like this when the hole their parents had left made its presence known._

_When his brothers were sick and in need of comfort, that hole that their parents used to fill would hurt…hurt so much. They had no grandparents or uncles or aunts; it was just them…_

_Five brothers against the world and he was the oldest of them. The one with the most responsibility, the one that had to look after them. The one that had to play the part of the parent when it came to the younger ones, the one that was a mentor and friend to the older two…_

_It was a tough job; he_ thought as he made his way to the garage. _Alan and Gordon barely remember him as anything but their guardian, their pseudo-parent. Alan more than Gordon as Alan was only three at the time of the crash, just a little baby…_

He grabbed Alan’s school bag and the stuff from the chemist out of his car, while ignoring the smell that was coming from vomit on the floor. _Oh, he really needed to clean that up,_ he thought with a grimace as he made his way inside again.

The first thing he heard as he entered the hallway was sneezing, damp messy sneezes that were echoing down the hall from Alan’s bedroom. _Oh his poor kiddo,_ He winced in sympathy for Alan as he walked into their living area, placing the bags on the kitchen counter. 

He sent a quick text message to John, the text reading _**‘what’s the best way to clean up vomit?’**_ _John always knew those weird little things; he_ thought as he started to unpack the bags, noticing with displeasure that Alan’s lunch box was pretty much still full of food. _The kid had barely eaten anything in it…_

**_‘Put Baking soda on it. Leave for 15 minutes then swept it up into a bin.’_** John replied with speed, not even bothering to ask why he needed to know first. _**‘Should I ask why?’**_

_**‘Allie’s sick with a bad cold’**_ he texted back as he threw the contents of Alan’s lunchbox in the bin, not wanting anyone else to accidentally eat the leftover food and get sick because of it. ** _‘He threw up just as we got home..’_**

_**‘Poor kiddo…’**_ John replied a couple of minutes later. _**‘Half the people in my class are sick with some kind of bug as well; the whole campus seems to be sick…’**_

**_‘Be careful, John, I don’t want you getting sick before your final next week..’_** he only realised how much he sounded like their father after he sent the text. _ **‘Or getting sick in general, one sick brother is enough..’**_

_**‘Don’t worry Scott; I’ll be careful..’** _

**— — —**

**Alan pov.**

He rolled over onto his side, trying to get comfortable but no matter what he did, he just couldn’t…. _he felt too sick,_ he thought with a groan rubbing at his irritated, red nose. _His tummy was aching, and his head was hurting and…and-_

He sneezed unrestrainedly into his pillow, feeling too tired to even try covering with his hand. His nose was running everywhere but he couldn’t do much about it as he didn’t have tissues and wiping it with his hand wasn’t really helping, he needed to blow it. 

His bedroom door creaked open as Scott entered the room. He sat up a bit, watching with tired eyes as Scott walked over to his bed, a yellow bucket in hand…

His stomach churned at the sight of the bucket, the memory of throwing up fresh in his mind and _he’ll be honest, it was probably a good idea on Scott’s part to give him something to be sick in. He wouldn’t be surprised if he threw up again…_

“Hey sweetheart..” Scott smiled softly at him as he placed the bucket on the floor by his bedside table and grabbed a couple of things out of it, a box of tissues being one of the items, placing them on his bedside table. “How are you feeling?” 

He groaned in misery, looking up at Scott with the most pitiful look on his face. His nose twitched, and before long he was sneezing uncovered into his lap, the sneezes not even giving him a chance to recover before another one attacked him. 

His nose was running really severely now, dripping down past his chin but he was feeling so horrible at this point, _he just didn’t care…_

“Oh sweetie, I shouldn’t have asked…” Scott sighed sadly, sitting down on the edge of the bed. “I got some medicine for you but first come here, sweetheart…” Scott gently lifted his chin up, wiping his sore, irritated, red nose with a soft tissue, being extremely gentle. Scott then held the tissue over his nose “Blow..” 

He did as he was told and the noise that followed sounded terribly sick, even to his ears, and _ow…his head was really hurting now,_ little tears gathering in his eyes from the pain. _He felt so…so horrible…_

Scott frowned, his eyebrows furrowing in worry as Scott threw the tissues, _which were now soaking wet_ , into the bucket. Scott picked up the thermometer, “I want to take your temperature, okay, Allie?” 

He nodded weakly as he opened his mouth, letting Scott place the thermometer under his tongue. Scott stroked his hair gently, watching him with gentle, loving eyes as they waited for the thermometer to beep. 

“I’m going to take you to the doctor’s tomorrow, okay?” Scott explained gently, caressing his cheek. “I want to get you properly checked out…” 

He nodded weakly in acknowledgement even though he wasn’t too fond of the doctors, _he always had to get some kind of injection, and he hated needles, he really hated them…_

The thermometer beeped. 

Scott took it out of his mouth and took a look at it. Scott frowned in displeasure, “Yep, that’s a fever…” Scott sighed softly to himself, “though not a high one, thank goodness for that.. but definitely a fever…” Scott placed the thermometer on the bedside table.

He sniffled damply, a terrible itch building in his nose. His eyes were wet and watery, irritated and red around the edges. He rubbed at his nose, but that just made the itch worse, his nose starting to run again.

Scott handed him a tissue with a sad look, stroking his hair back gently. He nodded in thanks, blowing his nose into a tissue. The relief from blowing barely lasted long, his nose refilling in a blink. _He hated this cold; he really hated it!_

“Okay, let’s get that medicine in you, shall we?” Scott said softly as he picked up the medicine bottle, reading the dosage instructions. Scott measured a little bit out into a tinny medicine cup, the liquid a pinky rose colour… 

_He could already taste the horrible flavour; he_ thought with a little frown as he coughed into his arm. _Why was medicine always a yucky pink colour?_

“Now, this is going to make you very sleepy, okay kiddo?” Scott explained as he handed him the medicine cup, the yucky pink syrup staring up at him. “Which is good because you need as much rest as you can get, okay?” 

He nodded as he brought the medicine to his lips, hesitating for a second before taking a leap of faith and downing the medicine in one gulp. And instantly regretting it….

He coughed as the disgusting taste hit his senses like a battering ramen, “that’s yucky!” He cried in disgust, sticking his tongue out and shaking his head, trying to rid himself of that terrible taste. 

“I know sweetheart, I know…” Scott sighed softly as he took the empty medicine cup from him, placing it on the bedside table. “But it’s going to make you feel so much better in the long run…” Scott ran his fingers through his hair tenderly, giving him a comforting smile. 

“Come on, have a little sip of water kiddo..” Scott handed him a water bottle, and despite what Scott said about taking little sips, he started to gulp the water down in one go, trying to get rid of that horrible taste. 

“Hey! Hey, I said little sips…” Scott prided the bottle from his hands, taking it away from him, a slight scolding tone to his voice. “Not big gulps Kiddo, you’re going to upset your stomach…”

_A bit late for that,_ he thought with a groan as the water hit his stomach suddenly, splashing and squishing about in his tummy. His nausea seemed to increase tenfold all at once. 

Scott sighed heavily, shaking his head slightly, “This is why you listen to me, sweetheart..” Scott cupped his cheek, rubbing gentle circles with his thumb.

Tears gathered in his eyes. “Sorry..” he sniffed damply, leaning into Scott’s gentle touch. 

“Oh, it’s alright, Alan…Come on, lay down now, ” Scott gently nudged him into a sleeping position, his head meeting his pillow. “It’s time for you to get some sleep…” 

He yawned softly as Scott brought his blanket up to his chin and tucked him in, laying a little kiss on his forehead, “I love you, Allie…” Scott whispered softly, his eyes filled with tender, gentle love. 

“Lov…love you too…” he mumbled softly as he snuggled into his pillow, his eyes feeling too heavy to keep open. “Stay?” 

Scott smiled softly at him, stroking his hair “I’m not going anywhere, Baby…” 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, chapter 5 is here! Virgil and Gordon are getting the spotlight this time 😄 But don’t worry, I will be getting back to Alan in the next chapter, I’m not done with him yet… 😈😁😅 (Someone needs to hide him from me, lol..) 
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!

**Gordon pov**

_Three o’clock, it was his favourite time of day,_ he thought with a grin as he waited at the school’s pick-up zone with his school bag. It was the crazy rush hour, the pickup zone filled with kids, young and old.

Younger kids were running about and playing with each other, some kids were getting picked up, others were taking on their phones or waiting for a bus. Teachers were trying to keep everyone under control, making sure no one ran onto the road and in front of a moving car.

He usually would have Allie waiting with him, they would talk about anything and everything. _Share a funny joke, plan a prank, anything…but today he didn’t have his little partner in crime with him because the kid had gone home sick._

They had pulled him out of class to tell him that Virgil was only picking him up today, that his brother had gone home sick. _But they didn’t tell him how sick the kid was, just that he went home sick with some kind of cold._

_It couldn’t be that bad, surely? Alan didn’t seem that sick this morning. Though he’ll admit, the kid had been acting a bit weird this morning…_

He grinned as he spotted his brother’s bright green pickup truck drives into the school’s entrance. _That car was probably one of the most well-looked after cars there was, his brother taking great pride in his car. He swears his brother is in love with that green machine…_

“Heya Virg!” He grinned up at Virgil as he threw his school bag into the back of the truck, opening the front passenger side door. “What took you so long?” He asked with a grin as he jumped into his seat. “I was dying of old age over there..”

Virgil shook his head with a slight chuckle, “Hello to you too, Gordon…”

There was a smudge of car oil on Virgil’s cheek, unnoticed by the Apprentice mechanic and volunteer firefighter, _which was hilarious,_ he thought with smicker as he closed his door, doing his seat belt up.

Virgil looked at him suspiciously, not liking the look on his face. He gave Virgil an innocent smile, which admittedly just made Virgil more suspicious. “Well…did you have a good day, Gordo?” Virgil asked as he indicated into the main school traffic, away from the pick-up zone.

“Meh, it was okay, I guess..” he shrugged as he leaned back into his seat, his uniform getting all wrinkled. _Not that he really cared, he hated the thing. It was so bland and boring, plus uncomfortable at times._ “Would have been better if swimming practice wasn’t cancelled..”

“Why was it cancelled?” Virgil questioned as he tapped the steering wheel, waiting for the car in front of them to move. _School time traffic was always the worst, and they haven’t even gotten out of the school’s grounds yet!_

“The swim teacher called in sick, and the substitute teacher was sick as well, so no swimming for me..” He pouted, crossing his arms across his chest. “Like how am I going to win the Olympics if I don’t practice my swimming?”

Virgil sighed softly with a small smile, “You got plenty of time to practice kiddo, you’re not even sixteen yet..” _and would not be for at least a couple more years, and the age limit for entering the Olympics was sixteen and older…_ “But I’ll take you to the local pool on the weekend if you want?”

“You would?!” he grinned, bouncing up like an excited puppy. “You’re the best Virg! When I win gold, I’ll pay for you to go to the best art college there is! Or whatever college you want to go to really…”

“You don’t need to do that Gordy..” Virgil smiled at him, looking pretty touched. Virgil turned his attention back on the road, traffic starting to move again and before long they were on the main road. “I’m fine with just being an apprentice mechanic, it’s enjoyable work, and it brings money in..”

“But I thought you wanted to study art or something?” He asked, looking at his brother in confusion. “But went with the apprenticeship instead because we needed the money?”

“Well, that’s not the only reason, but yes, money was a factor, unfortunately..” Virgil sighed softly as he drove the car around a corner, “I would love to study art or even engineering, but as you said, we don’t have the money to spend on that…”

Virgil’s grip on the steering wheel tightened momentarily before loosening again. “And honestly? It’s not that big of a deal Gordy, I’m fine with it..” Virgil smiled at him, “I’d rather you guys get your education unhindered by expenses and stuff…”

“Yeah well…the offer still stands,” he said as he shifted in his seat, looking out the car window. “I win gold, you go to art school or engineering school or whatever..” He waved his hand lazily in Virgil’s direction, _trying to seem like he didn’t really care about it, but when in truth, he did._

“I’ll hold you to that then..” Virgil chuckled, only half-joking.

It was quiet in the car for a bit after that, Virgil concentrating on driving while he just zoned out into his own little world where there was no school or homework, _Just swimming, the wonderful sea and heaps of fun…_

He snaps out of his daydream as Virgil turned down a street, in the opposite direction to their house. _Huh? What’s going on?_ He thought as he straightened up, his curiosity peaked.

“Um, where are we going? Home is that way…” He points in the direction they should have gone, looking at Virgil in confusion. “Did I miss something?”

“I gotta pick up some groceries, we’re pretty much out…” Virgil explained as they stopped a red traffic light. “And with Alan sick, it would be a good idea to stock up on food anyway…”

He grimaced at the reminder that his little brother was sick in bed right now, “Is he okay? I mean…do you know how sick he is?” He asked softly, concerned tinting his voice as he looked over at Virgil. “I know there’s this nasty cold that is going around the school, I really hope he didn’t catch that…”

_One of his friends had caught it, and they had looked so terribly sick, face pale as can be, nose irritated red and raw as they would constantly be wiping or blowing it. Last he heard, they had been forced to stay home as they had gotten too sick to even leave their bed, let alone go to school._

_That was a week ago, he hasn’t seen them since… so he really, really hoped Alan did not have that cold…_

“From what Scott had told me, it seems to be a pretty bad cold..” Virgil sighed heavily as the light flashed green, the car starting to move again. “Other than that, I’m pretty much in the dark as well…”

He sighed leaning against the window, watching the buildings fly by them. _Sometimes he would imagine Virgil’s green hunk of a pickup truck was a giant plane, taking him somewhere filled with adventure._

_He had no idea where that idea had come from, but he found it very fun to imagine all the awesome scenarios. Sometimes there would be a little submarine, it would be yellow as that was his favourite colour, and it would take him to the bottom of the ocean floor, letting him explore the sea to his heart’s content._

_He shared this little daydream fantasy with Alan, who would come up with all sorts of crazy ideas. One of them being that he has his own ship, a spaceship that could explode all the space and still be home for dinnertime. A bright red spaceship to be exact…_

_They could spend hours playing pretend in Alan’s or his room, imagining that they were daring explorers heroes, out in the unknown, saving lives like their heroes and having lots and lots of fun…_

_He often joked that it would make an awesome tv show, people would go nuts for five dashing young heroes… Alan would just look at him weirdly like he grew another head…_

They turned into the local supermarket car park, Virgil having to drive around a bit before finding a park as it was busy at this time of day.

“So…can we get more celery crunch bars?” He grinned at Virgil as they made their way inside the store. “I’m almost out of them…”

“We’re just getting the essentials, Gordon…” Virgil gave a long-suffering sigh as he grabbed a shopping trolley, “not junk food…”

“You wound me, brother!” He gasped in horror, holding his hand over his heart dramatically. “Celery crunch bars are not junk food, they are an essential part of a growing boy’s diet!”

“Why didn’t I just leave you in the car?” Virgil muttered softly to himself as they walked down a shopping aisle. “Fine, you can get them-“ He fist bumps the air in victory, “-but only a couple! I swear those things are full of super…”

He deliberately ignored that last part, running down the aisle to get his precious treats…


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay here it is, chapter 6! I had fun writing this chapter. Virgil really stepped up in this chapter, he was awesome! He really painted a picture with words :D I hope you guys enjoy the chapter!

**Virgil pov**

He smiled as their house came into sight, _it was a real hidden beauty…_ The natural red timber exterior shined in the afternoon sun, highlighting the gardens, green with happy, lively plants. Then there were the beautiful stained glass windows that let in so much natural light and gave them the best view of the garden.

Scott’s bedroom, as it was the master bedroom of the house, had two big stained glass doors that lead out onto a verandah that ran across the front of the house. Most of their bedrooms had a window facing the verandah, except Gordon’s whose window faced the backyard.

Which they didn’t really have because of how the house was positioned, their front yard was basically their main yard, but it was still pretty private as they did live on a little bit of acreage. The amount of land was nothing compared to the farm they used to live on with their parents, _which had hectares of farmland._

Where here they only had one or two acres, which was more than enough for them if he’s being honest. They were so lucky to live in a house like this because he’ll be honest, when they were forced to sell their parents’ farm, he didn’t think they would be able to find a house with _five bedrooms,_ let alone what they have gotten in this house…

_A part of him likes to believe that it was their parents watching over them that got them to where they were now._ Things weren’t always easy, but nothing really is, and he likes to appreciate the gifts they have been given, _savour them like sweet music._

Sure he misses the old farmhouse and all the memories that were made in that house, that old house would always be special to him and his brothers. But this new house they lived in now, it was a fresh start, and he loved it just as much as he did the old house, _just differently…_

“Hey, Gordon…” He glanced over at Gordon, who had zoned out into his little daydream of yellow submarines and sea life. “We’re home…”

**— — —**

He enters the house by the laundry as that was where the garage connected onto the house, his arms were piled high with grocery bags. _Their own reusable shopping bags, of course. It was the year twenty sixty, people didn’t use plastic bags of any kind anymore…_

Their house was much longer than it was wide, a single hallway connecting all the rooms. At the very end of the house was their main living space, which was exactly opposite Scott’s bedroom on the other side of the house.

Compared to the rest of the house, their living area was very open-planned. You could be in the kitchen and talk with someone in the lounge room with ease. The lounge room was also connected to the verandah by two big glass doors, similar to how Scott’s bedroom was…

There were also a lot of windows in this room, making it feel very open and spacious as you could easily see out into the garden. They also had a wonderful stone fireplace that warmed the room so well on those cold winter nights, _he spent a lot of time in this part of the house…_

_As they all did, truthful…_ he thought as he entered the living space, spotting Scott sitting at the kitchen’s island counter, working on his tablet with a cup of steaming coffee sitting next to him. _It was always flat white or espresso for Scott, who loved his strong coffee._

_It was something they both shared, though his love of coffee could be called an addiction…_

“Hey, Scott..” He smiled at his brother as he walked to the kitchen counter, placing the shopping bags down gently. _He had taken the heaviest bags, leaving the lighter ones for Gordon to carry in.. (if the boy didn’t already run off to avoid doing his homework that is…)_

“Oh, hey, Virg!” Scott smiled at him, looking up from his tablet. “I didn’t hear you drive in, I must have zoned out for a moment there..uh..” Scott frowned at him, his eyes narrowing in on his right cheek. “Um, Virgil? you do know you got a bit of oil on your left cheek, right?”

“Huh?” He blinked in surprise, rubbing his cheek with his hand and a bit of car oil came off onto his hand. “How did that get there?” he asked in bemusement before the realisation that he had been with _Gordon_ for the last hour and _the sneaky little kid hadn’t said a word about it…_

_He went into public with car oil on his face… oh, that little sh-_ “Well…Never trust Gordon to tell you that you got oil on your face..” he chuckled softly as he shook his head. _It really wasn’t something worth getting mad over, it was just oil…_

“That’s a very good idea…” Scott chuckled softly as he leaned his elbows on the countertop. “How has your day been, other than the oil?”

He rolled his eyes at the tease, a small smile on his face as he started unpacking the groceries. _Oh, he wasn’t going to hear the end of that one for a while…_

“It was pretty good actually…” he smiled as he placed the dry goods in the pantry, standing on his tippy toes to reach the top shelf. “I got to play around with one of those old-timey car engines, so that was definitely a highlight…”

“so…how has your day been?”

“It could have been better..” Scott sighed softly, his eyes glancing down the hallway at their bedrooms… or more specifically _Alan’s bedroom_ , whose door was slightly ajar…

He frowned softly, his gut knotting in worry for his littlest brother “How is he?” he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

“He’s sleeping right now…” Scott answered softly, rubbing his eyes tiredly, “the medicine I gave him knocked him out pretty good but…” Scott ran his hand through his hair, seeming pretty stressed by day’s events “but he’s really not well…”

Gordon chose that moment to join them, his arms piled high with grocery bags. _You could barely see his head over them… At least he now knew the kid didn’t ditch him…_

“Hey, Scotty!” Gordon dropped the bags on to the kitchen counter, his voice loud in the otherwise quiet house. “What’s up?!”

Scott’s eyes narrowed, “Gordon, keep your voice down, Alan is sleeping…” Scott scolded lightly, frowning at the blond, “don’t you have homework, kiddo?”

“Awww but I just got home..” Gordon pouted at Scott as he collapsed on the living room’s couch, his feet hanging off the edge of the sofa as he grabbed the tv remote, “Can’t it wait until later?”

He chuckled softly to himself, putting the cold food away in the fridge. _Gordon was always the hardest to get working on his homework and in turn, made it hard to get Alan to work on his homework…_

_Though with Alan, he could just sit down with the kid and help him through his spelling words and times tables. Gordon, on the other hand, his homework was a bit more assignment based work or something the kid had to do himself._

_So most of the time, he couldn’t really help, though he would always try if Gordon asked for it…_

_Though a part of him was jumping with glee as he wasn’t the only adult home this time, which meant it wasn’t sorely his responsibility to get Gordon to start on his homework. He was glad to let Scott handle Gordon for a change…_

Scott stands up with a frown, walking over to the sofa. “No, you’ll forget to do it otherwise, Gordon..” Scott looked down at Gordon sternly, his arms crossed against his chest, “homework, now…”

“Bu-”

“I am not in the mood for this, Gordon..” Scott frowned, his eyes narrowed into slits as he stared at Gordon. “Homework. Now.” A silent but deadly _‘don’t push me, young man..’_ was buried in that look.

Gordon blinked up at Scott, his eyes widening slightly, “Okay Sheesh, don’t have to get all grumpy…” Gordon jumped up from the couch and disappeared into the hallway, going back to the garage to fetch his school bag.

_At quite a speed, he might add…_

“Oh, I wish I got that on camera..” he chuckled softly as he leaned on the kitchen counter, “I think you broke a record, I normally take me way longer to get him started on his homework…”

_Gordon really should have known better than to try his normal tactics on Scott, especially with Scott stressed and worried about Alan…_

Scott sighed, his shoulders losing some of their tension, “You just don’t take no for an answer, Virg..” Scott smiled softly at him, walking back over to the kitchen counter. “It’s not that hard…”

He smiled at his brother, “That’s easy for you to say-”

“Virgie?” A little voice sniffled, drawing their attention to the hallway entrance, where a sick little boy in his pyjamas stood, A sleepy expression on his face as he rubbed at his leaky red nose. “Scotty?”

“Allie, what are you doing out of bed?”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, chapter 7 is here!😁 And poor Allie, I am not kind to him…😅

**Virgil POV**

Scott’s eyebrows creased in worry as he straightened up “Allie, what are you doing out of bed?” Scott asked, walking over to their sick little brother. 

_Alan was visible breathing out of his mouth, looking so severely congested and stuffed up. His face was really pale with a slight feverish flush on his cheeks, little droplets of sweat sitting on his temples like a crown of sickness._

_Alan’s eyes were red-rimmed and watery, giving him that look of having just cried. They also had that unfocused, feverish ‘I’m not really with it..’ look that could be partly from the medication or the fever that plagued his little brother or maybe both…_

_But the thing that stood out the most was Alan’s little red button nose… the kid’s nose looked so irritated and sore, glistening with moisture as thick gunky snot flowed out of the kid’s nostrils._

_The only thing halting the flow was the fact that Alan was constantly sniffing, each little sniffle crackling with wetness as the flow got worse the longer the kid put off blowing it…_

“Come on, what’s the matter, sweetie?” Scott asked gently as he crouched down in front of Alan, stroking a bit of hair out of the kid’s eyes “Why are you out of bed? I thought you were sleeping..”

“I…I he-heaud a car dribe in….” Alan mumbled softly, sounding really congested, his voice having that classic bad cold sound of a blocked nose and sore throat. 

_All in all, he sounded just so miserably sick…_

Alan rubbed at his nose, swaying on his feet slightly. “I…I wauted to-ugh..” Alan sniffled, his nose starting to twitch and flare with an awful itch “-to see w-whuo..it..i-it w-w-wa-” Alan sneezed wetly towards the ground, nearly kneeling over from the force of the sneeze, unable to cover in time…

Alan shivered, his little arms wrapping around his middle with a whine, a tear slipping down his cheek…

“Oh, sweetie, come here…” Scott sighed softly as he lifted Alan into his arms, holding the kid in a gentle embrace. “That was only Virgil and Gordon getting home, you really should have stayed in bed..” 

Alan sniffled, his head was resting against Scott’s shoulder, his eyelids flickering between open and shut. _The kid was looking so tired and sleepy, he was surprised the kid had even woken up in the first place…_

Alan’s tummy gave a sickly grumble, sounding so painful that he had to wince in sympathy as his little brother groaned with a little sicky burp and cough. _Oh, Allie…_

“Virgie?” Alan’s eyes briefly meet his own, the kid’s eyes watery and red, looking so terribly sick. The kid tried to suppress a cough but it only made him cough more…

”Hey kiddo..” he smiled softly at Alan, gently caressing the kid’s cheek, “Scotty told me you weren’t feeling well, so I brought some fresh lemons to make you a nice hot honey lemon drink for your throat…” 

_Honey lemon was something their Mother or their Grandma used to make them when they had colds or sore throats, it was really soothing and comforting…_

“I can make you one right now if you want?” 

Alan shook his head with a little groan, coughing roughly into his fist. “Tu-tummy feels too…ugh-” Alan’s tummy felt like that was the perfect moment to painfully grumble, making Alan whimper and bit his lip, the kid going an even paler colour than before…

Scott frowned deeply, looking down at Alan in concern and so much worry. Just as Scott was going to open his mouth to say something, Alan’s nose decided to have a tantrum as well, leaving the kid a snotty, sneezy mess. 

Alan’s bottom lip was starting to tremble…

“Oh, baby, come on, let me clean you up kiddo…” Scott spoke softly as he sat down on one of the kitchen’s barstools, “Virgil, can you pass me that tissue box?” 

“Sure..” He nodded as he spotted the unopened tissue box Scott was asking about on the kitchen counter near the window. He ripped it open and placed it next to his brother, “Here you go…” 

Scott nodded in thanks as he grabbed a couple of tissues, Alan cradled in his big brother’s lap like a little baby. _Alan was often mistaken for a toddler by a lot of people, the kid was just unusually small for his age…_

Scott gently wiped Alan’s damp red nostrils with the tissues, cleaning up the thick snot that was oozing from the kid’s nose as gently as he could, trying his hardest not to irritate Alan’s already really sore, really sensitive nose.

But it didn’t matter how gentle Scott was being as anything would irritate Alan’s poor little red nose right now, which started to twitch before an explosion of a sneeze burst out of the kid. Followed by another forceful sneeze and then another sneeze and _another_ …Ten wet, drippy and messy sneezes in total, leaving snot and tears streaming down Alan’s face.

Scott caught most of it in the tissues, which was soaked to high heaven now, but some had escaped, spraying Scott’s arm and the air around them. _Little droplets of cold virus left floating in the air…_

Alan sniffled, wet and damply as he collapsed back against Scott, an expression of absolute misery on his face. 

He noticed out of the corner of his eye Gordon standing in the hallway entrance, his eyes wide with concern and worry. His school bag hanging off his shoulder as the teen debated what to do…

He sighed softly, “Come on, Gordon, homework..” He nodded to the dining room table as Scott cleaned Alan up, “tell me what you have to do, and I’ll see if I can help..” 

Gordon nodded, bringing his bag over to the dining room table, _not even fighting him on it like he usually would…_ Gordon’s still slightly wide eyes lingered on Alan, who had started crying in Scott’s arms. 

_The poor kid could only handle so much…_

“Is he going to be okay?” Gordon asked him quietly as Scott bundled Alan up in his arms, carrying the sick seven-year-old to his bedroom. “I don’t think I have seen Alan that sick in…in forever..” 

He sighed softly, squeezing the thirteen-year-old shoulder. “He’s just not very well at the moment, Gordy..” He took a seat at the dining room table next to his little brother, “now come on, what homework do you have?” 

Gordon’s eyes lingered on the hallway for a second before looking at him, “The worst in the world…” Gordon said as he dropped his head against the table with a dramatic sigh. 

“Maths!” 


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's chapter 8 XD hope you guys enjoy! XD

**Scott pov.**

"Sweetie, please calm down.." he pleaded as he lowered his crying baby brother onto his bed, tucking him under the blankets before sitting down on the edge of the bed, his hand finding Alan's cheek, "you're not doing yourself any good, come on, it's alright…"

_His baby brother was a sobbing, shivering and shaking mess_ , he thought as he caressed his baby brother's cheeks, which had tears steamrolling down them while Alan's red nose ran like a faucet. 

"I don't...I don't beel bell Scotty!" Alan sobbed as he scrubbed at his wet and irritated eyes, a feverish flush on his cheeks, "By...by head hurts an-and by throat hurts an-and I c-c-can't-"Alan hitched, his little nose starting to twitch and flare, exposing the red and inflamed inner membranes of his nose. "I….I c-can't st-sto-"

Alan sneezed into his hand, his body launching forward with the force of the sneeze before collapsing back down onto the bed with a weak, sickly groan, a trail of snot running down past his lip. 

He grimaced lightly to himself as he reached for a tissue as another sneeze, this one even messer then the last, shook Alan to the core. 

Alan whimpered, his face a complete mess. "Scotty…" the kid whined, looking up at him with wet missable blue eyes. "i... I don't beel well..." 

"Oh baby, shhhh…. I know.." He comforted as he gently cleaned up the mess under Alan's little sore and swollen red nose, being extremely gentle. "I know..." 

Alan sniffled, hitching slightly. 

"Blow your nose for me, Alan..." he spoke softly as he held a tissue over Alan's nose. "We need to get rid of all that gunk, so give me a good strong blow, okay?" 

The noise that followed was nothing pleasant, sounding damp and wet as Alan blew his nose into the tissue, the act seeming to drain Alan of the little energy he had left. 

Alan hiccuped weakly, tears still steamrolling down his cheeks. 

He threw the tissues into the yellow bucket by Alan's bed, looking at his baby brother with a sad look. He laid the back of his hand gently against Alan's forehead, feeling the heat radiating from his little brother. _It broke his heart to see Alan like this..._

"S-Scotty.." 

"Shhh, …it's alright..." He whispered softly as he laid down next to his baby brother, letting Alan snuggle in close, "I'm here baby, I'm here..." he stroked Alan's soft blond hair back gently as he held his baby brother close, "It's alright..." 

"Don't go.." Alan croaked as his little hands clenched at his shirt, his little head resting against his chest, "I….I don't want to be alone…" Alan sniffled, "I...I don't like being alone..." 

"Shhh, I know…" He sighed deeply as he closed his eyes for a brief moment, "I know kiddo...I'm not going anywhere, sweetheart.." He whispered softly as he stroked Alan's blond fringe back and placed a little kiss on Alan's temple. "I'm staying right here…" 

"now, please, I need you to go to sleep..." he whispered softly, his hand running up and down Alan's back, "you really need it, baby..."

**————**

**Virgil POV**

It had been about an hour since Scott left the living room with Alan.In that time, he had started preparing their dinner as _Gordon didn't really need his help with his homework at the moment_ , he thought as he glanced over at his teenage brother at the dining room table, who was busy working on his homework.

_He was slightly surprised that Gordon wasn't rushing through his homework; usually, the kid couldn't wait to be finished,_ he thought as he chopped up vegetables into bite-size pieces. _He had a feeling that the fact that Alan was sick had a part to play…_

_Speaking of Alan, he was making the kid's all-time favourite meal, chicken and corn soup, with little star-shaped and smiley-faced croutons on the side, of course._

_Soup was a no brainer really, Alan was sick, and his throat was most probably really sore, So simple soothing soup was on the menu tonight…_

_And most probably tomorrow as well,_ he thought as he made a mental note to freeze some of the soup. _It would be easier in the long run if they had already made food in reserve, just in case this bad cold spreads to the rest of the family._

_Which he'll be honest, it was inevitable. Colds always got shared between them, even as kids, if one of them caught a cold, the others were sure to follow. So he was damn well preparing beforehand..._

He glanced up from what he was doing as Scott re-entered the room, his big brother looking emotionally drained and exhausted. He didn't blame him, looking after ill brothers was not easy…

"Hey…" He spoke softly as Scott re-took his seat at the kitchen bench, rubbing his eyes tiredly. "How is he?" 

"Asleep, finally…" Scott signed as he slumped forward against the kitchen counter, looking at him with sad and exhausted eyes, "The poor baby would not settle unless I was lying next to him and even then, he was still terribly upset and...well just feeling terribly sick.."

"Poor kid…" He grimaced as he threw the chopped up vegetables into a pot on the stovetop, his concern for his youngest brother doubling, "Do you think we should take him to the doctor?"

"Already handled that Virg, I got him booked in for a doctor's appointment at eleven tomorrow.," Scott explained as he took a sip of his coffee but pulled back with a grimace, the coffee obviously gone cold. "So I'm taking tomorrow off work; hopefully, this is just a nasty cold and not anything else…" 

"Yeah, it's most probably just a bad head cold but... better safe than sorry..." He spoke as he got the precooked chicken for the soup out of the oven, "Well... I'm making his favourite soup for dinner tonight, so hopefully, that will cheer him up a bit.." 

"Chicken and corn soup?" Scott smiled slightly as he stood up, cold coffee in hand as he walked over to the sink, tipping the coffee down the drain, "Yeah I'm sure that will make him happy, you need help cutting the croutons?" 

"Yeah, if you don't mind…" He smiled as he got the chicken stock out of the fridge, adding it to the pot of vegetables before working on cutting up the chicken into bite-size pieces. "Make sure to make lots of stars, Allie loves those…" 

"Oh, I know…" Scott smiled as he washed his hands before grabbing the bread out of the fridge, getting to work on those croutons. "The kid gets so upset when there isn't any, though I swear he plays with them more than he eats them…" 

"Ooh! Ohh! Scotty!" Gordon waved from the dining room table, getting both his and Scott's attention, "Can you make little fishes as well?!" Gordon asked, a big grin on his face as he gave Scott his best puppy dog eyes. 

Scott rolled his eyes with a chuckle, "If you promised to focus on your homework and get it done tonight, sure I'll think about it…" Scott answered with a small smirk, looking at Gordon with a slightly raised eyebrow as he set up a cutting board. "Deal?" 

"Yeah! Yeah, deal!" Gordon nodded with a grin as he turned back to his homework with an excited expression which quickly faded with a grimace, "though where's John when you need him? Stupid maths…" 

He chuckled softly, overhearing Gordon's muttered comment. _Math had always come easy to John, he swears his red-haired brother thinks in code and numbers. John always felt more comfortable around tech than people…_

_Speaking of John…_

"Hey, isn't John's train going to be here soon?" He wondered out loud as he looked at the clock on the far living room wall. Scott glanced up from cutting the shaped croutons, a nice little pile sitting next to his cutting broad.

"Yeah, it is…" Scott frowned, looking slightly conflicted. "I normally pick him up on my way home but Alan…" Scott glanced at the hallway that led down to their bedrooms, biting his lip in concern. "I don't want him waking up while I'm gone but agh…" 

"I can go pick John up instead if you want?" He offered as he added the chicken stock to the pot, seeing his brother's internal struggle, "The soup just needs to simmer and cook now, anyway.." 

"Thanks for the offer Virg but.." Scott sighed softly as he finished cutting the croutons, arranging them on a baking tray, "but it shouldn't take me too long to pick up John and be back, Alan will be fine..."

_The last bit was more Scott talking to himself than anything else..._

"Anyway, I would most probably burn the soup accidentally knowing me.." Scott smiled at him, chuckling softly to himself as he put the tray in the oven, "Don't leave me in charge of food, Virg, you know that's a bad idea…" 

"Ha! Yeah, I agree!" Gordon called out from the dining room table, butting his way into the conversation, "I still have that burnt taste in my mouth from the last time Scott cooked.." 

He chuckled as Scott's eyebrows shot up, _big brother looking slightly offended despite, not a moment ago, he himself was saying the same thing..._

"Hey! That roast was not that bad!" Scott called back with a barely concealed grin, "It was only slightly charred, and that wasn't all on me, if I remember correctly, mister..." 

Gordon's cheeks went red, and suddenly Gordon couldn't look them in the eyes anymore. 

"Wasn't that the night that Gordon and Alan got stuck up that really big tree?" He wondered out loud, watching his brothers with a steadily growing smile. "Didn't we have to get the big ladder out?" 

Gordon's cheeks went redder as the teen slouched lower in his chair. "I wasn't the only one stuck up that tree, you know.," Gordon muttered, crossing his arms with a mega pout.

Scott ignored Gordon's comment, "Oh yeah! It was that exact night!" Scott nodded with a laugh as he washed his hands, "Just as I was about to get the roast out of the oven as well, so really... I can't be solely blamed for that mess..." 

"Though…" Scott sobered slightly, looking at Gordon with a slight frown, "I definitely gained a couple more grey hairs from that little stunt..."

_Scott was only half-joking..._

Gordon just poked his tongue out at Scott, turning back to his dreaded homework. He and Scott both chuckled lightly, rolling their eyes at the childish act, the atmosphere of the room feeling lighter than it had previously been…

"Well, okay…I better go and get John..." Scott sighed deeply as he grabbed his car keys, "Look after Alan while I'm gone-"

"Like we wouldn't?" He grinned at Scott, giving his big brother a brotherly nudge. "Go and pick up our space case, you smother hen…" 

Scott rolled his eyes at him with a little chuckle, "Don't let John hear you calling him that..." Scott called back as he left the room, the laughter evident in his voice. 

"I won't!" He called back with a grin. 


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter! XD I hope you guys enjoy this XD I'm getting back to Allie next chapter hehehe 😁😈

**Scott POV**

He parked his car in the train station car park, turning the engine off. _Today had not been an enjoyable day_ ; he thought as he prepared to wait for John's train to arrive, leaning forward against the steering wheel, chin resting on his arms.

_He still couldn’t believe he didn’t notice how sick Alan was this morning. Like the kid had been telling him that he wasn’t feeling well, but did he listen?_

_No…_

_Some guardian he was,_ he thought with a frown, unintentionally glaring out his windscreen at the deserted train station. _For all he knew, sending Alan to school could have made the cold even worse, and it was all his fault!_

His frown shifted to a look of sadness as his mind went to Alan, who he had left at home. _He hoped Allie was still asleep; he didn’t even want to imagine how upset Alan would be if he woke up and found out that he wasn’t there._

_Alan was...in a word, a sensitive kid, who needed a gentle and caring touch._

_They were Alan's security blanket, himself in particular as he was the closest thing the kid had to a parent. He was Allie’s brother, father and mother, all at the same time….Because there was no one else to take up those roles…_

_And, being honest, sometimes it was tough being all three of those things and often one gets forgotten among the others. It was usually the brother role that slipped; he was more a parent to Alan then a big brother at this point..._

He sighed tiredly, pinching the bridge of his nose as he felt a slight headache coming on. He glanced up at the station as the overhead speakers announced John’s train arriving soon.

He undid his seat belt and stepped out of the car, so John would be able to see him when the train arrived. He watched as John’s train pulled into the station, stopping with a loud screech. _It seemed really packed tonight..._

After a couple of seconds, a sea of people flooded off the train. There were people in suits, people in uniforms and people in casual clothes, all tired from the long day. 

_Must have been a busy day at work.. or school,_ he added, spotting a couple of school kids chatting as they got picked up by their parents. _Everybody looked so tired…_

He was having difficulties spotting John in the crowd, _which in itself was a rarity…Usually, John stands out like a sore thumb in a crowd;_ He thought with a small smile as he scanned the crowd for his brother. _It was mostly because of John’s bright carrot red hair._

Which John had inherited from their grandfather on their mother’s side. Other than Gordon’s slightly red-tinted blond hair, John was the only one in the family with the red hair gene. 

He couldn't help the small smile that formed as he scanned the crowd for his brother. _The red hair definitely suited John..._

_While he looked nearly identical to their father, brown hair and dimples with his mother’s blue eyes. John, Gordon and Alan, on the other hand, were the most like their mother, in looks anyway…_

_Though both himself and John had inherited their father's height, both reaching the six-foot mark easily._

_In fact, he remembered his Grandma joking once that Alan was their mother’s little twin. Alan looked so much like Lucille Tracy; it was almost eerie, although Alan was very much a mix of all of them when it came to his personality._

_If anyone of them were the most like their mother in personality, it would be Virgil and John_ , he thought, his small smile becoming a full grin as he spotted his little brother getting off the train, his black laptop bag hanging from his shoulder.

“Hey, John!” He called to his brother, waving his arm in the air to get his little brother’s attention. “Over here!” 

**\---**

_He didn’t know how, but John always seemed to make his car seem small,_ he thought, glancing over at the front passenger seat to see John with his long legs stretched out in front of him. _Which didn’t make sense because he was taller than John…_

_Though he didn’t blame John for stretching out a bit,_ he thought as he drove his car around a corner. _Those trains don’t really give you much space to move, and John looked drained._

_It wasn’t hard to imagine why... John wasn’t a real people person and an hour train ride, surrounded by lots and lots of other people, could really drain a person like John._

That's why he waited until they were halfway home to ask John how his day was...

“It wasn’t that bad, but it was very busy, spent most of-” John yawned, his orange eyelashes blinking sleep from his eyes. “-of the day in the library studying for my astronomy exam..” 

“I’m sure you’ll ace that, John” He smiled, keeping his eyes on the road. “You know the stars like no one else...except maybe Alan, kid definitely getting into that stuff…” 

_He has definitely caught the kid trying to sneak out at night to stargaze, way past his bedtime, he may add…_

_And most of the time, Alan completely forgets that it is cold at night and forgoes a jacket, resulting in an Allie popsicle by the time he realises the kid is out of bed…_

_Honestly, no wonder he’s going slightly grey..._

“The astronomy exam isn’t just stars, Scott...” John explained, looking at him with a raised eyebrow. _John always hated it when people had facts wrong.._ “It’s asteroids, black holes, planets and complex situations that can only happen in space…” 

He smiled in slight amusement, not really understanding what his brother was going on about… _Space wasn’t really his area of expertise, give him a plane and the clear sky and he was fine but space…_

_Completely out of his comfort zone...He was a sky bird, not astronaut..._

“You’re going to go up there one day, aren’t you?” He asked quietly with mixed emotions, keeping his eyes on the road so John wouldn’t see the conflict in them, even though he was sure his brother could hear it in his voice. “Like Dad…” 

Space ran in their family, their father being the first man to step on Mars. _However, the stardom of being the sons of the first man on Mars didn’t really help them in the long run. The money his father had earned from NASA had gone into his and John’s education._

_His father was hoping to start a business but had died before he could get it off the ground. The little money that their parents had saved and put away went into supporting them until he could find a job to support him and his brothers._

“If I can graduate and get accepted into NASA, yeah…” John smiled, looking out the car window at the stars in the sky. John turned to face him, “so, how has your day been? Heard it's been pretty rough...”

“It’s been…” He sighed, his grip on the steering wheel tightening. “Yeah, rough is probably the best way to describe it..” 

_He should have seen that Alan was sick,_ he thought with a little scowl, his grip on the steering wheeling getting tighter. _How could he prioritise getting to work on time over actually taking time to check if Alan was telling the truth or not?_

_Maybe if he had listened, Alan wouldn’t be-_

“You had no way of knowing that Alan was sick, Scott,” John spoke up suddenly, snapping him out of his self-loathing thoughts. “so stop beating yourself up over it…” 

He blinked at John in shocked surprise before focusing back on the road, slowing his car down to a stop as he came to a stoplight. “You don’t get it, John..” He sighed dismissively. 

“He told me he wasn’t feeling well and I didn’t listen...” He hit the accelerator, driving the car around the corner. Admittedly he may have hit the pedal a little too hard in his frustration. “What kind of guardian does that?” 

“Did he look obviously sick this morning?” John asked, blue-green eyes regarding him calmly, not even commenting on his slightly speedy turn. “Because I find it very hard to believe that you would send him to school if he even looked a little bit sick, so?”

He sighed, letting his shoulders drop. 

“Well, he didn’t look very sick this morning, no...But-” He answered reluctantly, shifting his hands slightly on the steering wheel with a frown, “-but he was harder to get up than unusual…”

“which in hindsight should have told me something was wrong,” He pinched the bridge of his nose with a slightly pained sigh, the headache from before coming back full force. “but Alan has never been an easy kid to wake up anyway, so…” 

John’s eyes watched him in silence, beckoning him to continue. _John may not be a people person, but he knew people, knew when to speak and when to listen. John was very good at listening..._

“Like I checked his temperature and it seemed normal..” He explained with a frown, letting himself properly reflect on the day’s events. “So I thought he was just tired this morning and that once he was at school, he would be fine..” 

_But Alan hadn’t been fine…_

“But then I got the call from the school and-Oh John, he sounded so sick...” He sighed, running his hand through his hair in slight distress. “I can’t believe I didn’t see it…”

“You know...You are too hard on yourself sometimes Scott..” John sighed wistfully, shaking his head slightly as he spoke. “You did nothing wrong, yes, you sent Alan to school when admittedly he should have stayed home…” 

He snorted dismissively to himself, “I don’t know about you John, but that sounds pretty bad to me…” He said as he turned off of the main street, home starting to get closer by the minute. 

“I haven’t finished yet..” John scowled at him, greeny-blue eyes giving him a slight stink eye. “Anyway, what I was trying to say, is that at the time, it wasn’t obvious that Alan needed to stay at home. So how could you blame yourself for something you didn’t even realise was an issue?”

He shifted in his seat slightly, feeling a bit uncomfortable as John’s reasoning stood up and he didn’t want to admit it... _John was right but…But he needed to be the best for his brothers, he couldn’t make mistakes._

_Mum or Dad would not have made the same mistake..._

John sighed, very clearly seeing his refusal to face the facts. “You made that choice based on the facts you had at the time, it may not have been the right one but that’s okay Scott...” John gave him a small comforting smile, “you’re allowed to make mistakes..”

_No, I’m not…_

“Sure, whatever...Can we just drop this?” He asked as he turned his car onto their street, home just minutes away. “I’m really tired, it's been a long day…” 

John’s shoulders dropped, eyes filled with disappointment, “Sure..” John sighed softly, turning his head to look outside his window. _He was sure John was already planning to get Virgil involved, knowing his brothers…_

He pulled into their driveway... 


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoy! XD

**Scott's pov**

He quietly nudged open Alan's bedroom door with his elbow, Alan's dinner sitting on a dinner tray in his hands. I _t was definitely a challenge not to spill any of the hot soup because sheesh, Virgil had filled the bowl up to the brim._

The sun had gone down a long time ago, the darkness of night setting in, causing Alan's room to be submerged in darkness. He could just make out the silhouette of Alan laying on the bed, the little rocket night-light next to the bed illuminating his baby brother. 

He could also see every little tremor that shook Alan's core, and he could hear every hitched and wheezy breath clearly, every sniffle and cough that Alan made, he could hear loud and clear. 

_It absolutely broke his heart…_

But even though the night-light illuminated Alan and the room enough that it wasn't pitch black, it was still dark and he couldn't see the floor very clearly. _The risk of walking blindly into a seven years old's room; especially with a bowl of hot soup in his hands, was too high of a risk, even for him._

_Because anybody that has raised young children or been around young children a lot would know just how much kids loved to leave stuff scattered all across their bedroom floors for unexpecting adults to nearly trip over or step on._

So it was with much regret that he had to turn Alan's ceiling light on, flooding the room with light. Much to the dismay of his baby brother, who cried out in pain at the sudden change of lighting and buried his head under his blanket. 

He grimaced, nudging Alan's bedroom door closed behind him, "Sorry, sweetie..." He apologised as he made his way over to Alan's bed, stepping around discarded toys that he would have surely tripped over if he didn't have the ceiling light on right now. 

"I'm going to turn the ceiling light off in just a moment, okay?" He lowered the dinner tray down onto the bedside table. 

Alan just whimpered in pure misery, a pair of feverish blue eyes peeking out from under the blanket. _Alan's bed was covered in a blanket of dirty tissues;_ he thought with a concerned frown as he switched the bedside lamp on. 

And the bucket beside the bed wasn't much better, tissues overflowing onto the floor, he thought as he made his way back over to the ceiling light switch, flicking it off. The room darkened quite a bit but not to the point where he couldn't see where he was walking. The bedside lamp had a softer glow than the ceiling light, which should be much gentler on Alan's eyes. 

_At least he hoped so;_ he thought with a worried frown as he walked back over to his baby brother, whose head was still buried under his blanket. He sat down on the edge of the bed, laying his hand lightly Alan's shoulder. "Sweetie, the light is off, you can come out now…" 

Alan hesitantly removed his blanket from his head, blinking up at him with a feverish pout. "Is that better? The light not hurting your eyes anymore, is it?" He asked gently, laying the back of his hand against Alan's flushed cheek.

_It was warm to the touch..._

Alan looked at him for a moment before weakly nodding his head, his eyes flickering close briefly as Alan groaned, his face scrunching up in discomfort. "I...I don't feel well…" Alan sniffled damply, looking up at him with watery, bloodshot eyes. 

"B-By h-" Alan broke off to cough harshly into his pillow a couple of times, his chest rattling with each cough, "-b-by head really h-hurts…" Alan finished with a stuffy groan and whimper.

"Oh baby, shhh I know..." He ran his hand gently through Alan's hair, letting his hand linger against Alan's forehead for a moment. _(The forehead felt even hotter somehow...)_ "I know you don’t feel well…" 

Alan sniffled. 

He sighed softly, glazing over at the hot soup on the bedside table "Come on, It's time to sit up a bit, okay?" He gently slipped his hands under Alan's armpits, taking hold of the kid's torso and gently lifted him up into a sitting position; fixing Alan's pillows accordingly. "It's dinner time.." 

Alan watched him with a sickly glaze, looking so sick and feverish; his flushed cheeks seeming even more apparent now; his nose visibly swollen and red, thick gunky snot oozing out of it. 

He grimaced at the sight, grabbing a tissue, "But first I need to give you your medication, okay?" He explained as he gently dabbed away the moisture under Alan's nose. 

Alan nodded with a little groan, slumping slightly against his pillow, looking up at him with half-lidded eyes. 

His eyebrows furrowed as he ran his hand through Alan's hair, letting his hand wander down to Alan's feverishly warm cheek; watching as Alan closed his eyes and leaned into his touch. 

Alan whimpered as he pulled his hand away, looking up at him with a pout. He signed sadly as he opened Alan's medicine and poured a measured amount into a little cup. 

"One big gulp and it's all over, okay?" He comforted as he handed Alan the little cup; which his baby brother took reluctantly, holding it like it was a snake wanting to bite him. _And maybe for a seven-year-old, a foul-tasting medicine was akin to a snake._

_But what Alan was currently feeling must have been worse because Alan swallowed it in one go, without needing any more encouragement from him. Which was a worrying surprise as it told him just how sick Alan was feeling..._

_Usually, he would have to encourage Alan a bit more before he would take his medicine,_ he thought as he took the empty medicine cup and handed his baby brother a bottle of water. 

_But this time, he barely had to say anything…This cold really was a bad one, wasn't it?_ He thought with a frown, running his hand through Alan's hair as his baby brother took a couple of small slips from his water bottle. 

Alan stops drinking abruptly, lowering his water bottle just before a massive sneeze burst out of him; stray going everywhere as Alan didn't have time to cover properly. That surprise sneeze was followed by another, this time into Alan's hand, and that sneeze was followed by another…

And another...

He gently slipped the water bottle out of Alan's hands as Alan continued to sneeze, each time getting wetter and more out of control; his baby brother sounding more congested every single second. 

Alan's head collapsed back against his headrest with a weak groan once the fit was over, the poor kid looking beyond miserable and exhausted, little tear lines running down his cheeks. And Alan's nose was even redder than it had been, looking mighty irritated and sore; thick gunk oozing out from it all the way down passed Alan's chin, running like a faucet on full power. 

"Oh, baby..." He grimaced softly as he reached for a couple of tissues, taking one and gently wiping under Alan's nose, causing Alan to whimper slightly; his nose flaring at the irritation of the tissue running across his nostrils. 

He paused briefly what he was doing, waiting for a second to see if Alan was going to sneeze or not. 

And with how irritated Alan's nose had been; he wasn't really surprised when Alan lurched forward, sneezing into the tissue he was holding over the kid's nose, soaking the tissue through thoroughly. 

He wiped up the moisture from the last sneeze the best he could with the socked tissue, "Your nose really isn't your friend today, is it?" He mused softly as he threw the soaked tissue into the overflowing bucket, wiping the excess moisture off onto his pants. 

Alan nodded with a congested sniffle, his head collapsing backwards against his pillow. He sighed as he gently lifted Alan's hand and wiped it clean as well, throwing the dirty tissues into the bucket by the bed. 

_He really needed to clean that out soon,_ he thought, looking down at the bucket with a frown; before turning his attention back to Alan, who's nose had already started to fill up again. And was beginning to run as well, causing Alan to sniffle and rub roughly at his nostrils; which crackled with moisture as the kid tried to stop the flow of his misbehaving nose. 

"Oh kiddo, come here.." He grabbed one more tissue and gently titled Alan's head up slightly, holding the tissue over Alan's nose, "Give me a big strong blow.." 

Alan sniffled, looking up at him with glazed over feverish eyes before blowing to the tissue; his nose still very congested and leaky as he pulled away. 

He frowned, grabbing another tissue, "one more, kiddo…" 

Alan groaned weakly before blowing into the tissue with a wet honk, soaking the tissue beyond use but that last blow seemed to have done the trick; Alan's nose stopping its assault for the moment.

"That's a good boy.." He whispered, laying a little kiss on Alan's forehead as he threw the dirty tissue into the bucket. "Now, I want to take your temperature, but after that, we can get some food into you, okay?" He smiled softly at Alan, his eyes filled with a tenderness reserved for his little brothers. "Virgil made your favourite, chicken and corn soup.." 

Alan paled slightly.

"Do I have to eat?" Alan groaned, rubbing at his wet and irritated eyes with his fist, looking up at him "I Don't...I don't feel good; I'm not hungry…"

He frowned, worry blossoming in his stomach as he grabbed the thermometer off the bedside table. _It wasn't like Alan to deny Virgil's chicken and corn soup._ "Alan, you need to eat your dinner..." 

"But...but my tummy hurts..." 

"I'm sorry, but this isn't up for debate sweetheart…" he stroked Alan's hair back tenderly, slipping the thermometer under Alan's tongue. "You barely ate anything today, and what you have you've thrown up… I'm not letting you skip dinner..." 

The teary-eyed pout Alan gave him was made even more heartbreaking by the thermometer sticking out of the kid's mouth, causing Alan to look so miserable and sick.

He couldn't help but pull Alan into a quick hug. "Sweetie, I'm only looking out for you.." he sighed, laying a gentle kiss to the side of Alan's head; pulling away as the thermometer beeped. 

He sighed, frowning at the results. _Alan's fever had gone up a bit since he last took the kid's temperature, not by much but still…_

_He would prefer his baby brother to not have a fever at all,_ he thought with a sigh, putting the thermometer back down on the table. He glanced over at Alan to find that the kid had slipped down his pillow a bit, his arms crossed in a pout as he stared off into the distance unseeingly.

He sighed softly, "Allie...come on, sit up, sweetheart.." He reached forward and gently lifted his baby brother up a bit; causing Alan to grumble and groan at him. He frowned, "I know you're not feeling well, but please cooperate with me, kiddo..." 

Alan bit his bottom lip as he looked up at him, blue eyes shining with moisture; red-rimmed around the edges and cloudy with fever. _It was evident to him if he pushed too hard or sounded in any way mad; that Alan would one hundred per cent start crying..._

He sighed for what felt like the hundredth time today, "I just want you to eat a little bit of your dinner, okay?" He explained as gently as he could, placing the dinner tray on Alan's lap, "You can't get better if you don't eat sweetie..." 

There was visible steam coming up from the soup, which made Alan shake his head and scrunched his nose up, the steam shifting something in Alan's sinuses…

And before long, Alan started to hitch and gasp, his eyes watering immensely as he desperately reached for a tissue. Grabbing one just as he lost all control; a multiple of five powerful sneezes bursting out of Alan, barely giving the kid time to recover before the next one hit. 

Alan was left shivering and shaking; all the colour having drained from Alan's cheeks, leaving him even paler than he originally had been. 

"Oh, sweetheart..." he sighed softly, brushing Alan's hair back with his hand. 

Alan made a sound that was in between a groan and whimper as he looked up at him; his nose shining red with moisture. "I...I don't feel-" Alan coughed harshly into his elbow, "-ugh..feel good.." 

He frowned, his heart just breaking and aching so badly for his little brother, "I know, baby.." He comforted, his eyes crinkling with worry as he grabbed a fresh tissue, "I know..."

He gently mopped up the excess moisture under Alan's nose, being careful not to irritate Alan's sore nostrils further. Alan's nose had started to drip and run; full to the brim with snot. 

He sighed, holding the tissue over Alan's nose. "Blow, kiddo.." 

Alan blew into the tissue, sounding very much like a stuffed up, water clogged foghorn. He frowned, throwing the used tissue away. _His poor baby..._

Alan sniffled, roughly rubbing his nose as he stared down at his dinner; baby blue eyes foggy with illness. "Stars?" Alan croaked, coughing slightly as he picked up one of the croutons. 

His eyes softened, "Yeah, I made them just for you, kiddo.." He smiled softly, running his hand through Alan's hair. "Because I know how much you like them. I even made a rocket…" He pointed to the crooked triangle shape-ish crouton, laughing slightly at his attempt. "At least I tried too.." 

"Oh…" Alan mumbled with a wet little sniffle. 

His smile slipped slightly as he watched Alan put the crouton down and continue to just stare at his food, not moving to eat any of it. 

"Allie, come on…" He sighed as he grabbed the spoon off the tray and scooped up a bit of soup, gently blowing on it before he brought it up to Alan's mouth; which Alan reluctantly opened after a second. "I just want you to eat a little bit, that's all I'm asking…" 

He continued to feed Alan a couple of more spoonfuls, Alan slowly getting more willing to eat after each new spoonful, a little bit of colour returning to Alan's cheeks. "You think you can finish the rest while I clean up your room a bit kiddo?" He turned the spoon handle towards Alan, holding it out for Alan to take. 

Alan nodded with a little sniffle, taking the spoon and scooping up a bit of the soup, taking a small sip. Alan's hand wasn't as steady as his had been, causing some of the soup to dribble down his chin, and drop onto his pyjama top. 

_But that didn't really bother him; he was just happy that his little brother was eating,_ he thought with a small smile. He leaned forward and placed a light kiss on the tip of Alan's forehead, softly whispering "Good boy…" as he stood up.

_Now onto the not so fun stuff,_ he thought with a grimace as he looked at the mess that was Alan's room, toys littered all over the floor and tissues overflowing from the bed and bucket/bin. _Not that any of this was fun,_ he thought with a sigh, his eyes shifting to his sick little brother. 

_Toys or tissues?_ He thought, quickly deciding to deal with the tissues last as that would be the messiest job, seeing as the bin was already overflowing, and there looked to be half a bucket worth of tissues on the bed as well. 

He was halfway through cleaning up Alan's toys when he heard the sound of Alan starting to cough. "You're okay kiddo?" He asked, concerned, watching as Alan nodded, spluttering into his arm. 

He frowned, before turning back to his task at hand, but he could not stop himself from glancing over at Alan every so often, worry churning in his stomach. He chucked the last toy into Alan's toy box and closed the lid, stretching slightly, his back hurting from bending over so much. 

_Who knew Alan had that many toys? No wonder he always tripped on them, there were so many… now those tissues,_ he thought with a frown, looking at the overflowing bin. _He's going to need a rubbish bag from the kitchen..._

"S-Scotty?" Alan asked weakly with a damp sniffle, looking at him with wet bloodshot eyes, “Where're you going?" 

"I'm just going to get a rubbish bag for those tissues, sweetheart.." He smiled softly at Alan, his hand resting on the door handle. "I'll be right back; you just continue eating, okay?" 

"Oh…" Alan sniffled with a little nod. "Okay…"

**\----**

He emptied the bucket full of used tissue into the black rubbish bag, before gently stroking the ones that were on the bed into the bag as well, some falling onto the floor, joining the other ones on the floor. 

"You sure know how to go through tissues kiddo…" He sighed softly, trying to make light of the situation as he bent down and picked up the last couple of tissues. "You're going to need another tissue box at this rate…" 

"S-Sorry.." Alan mumbled weakly, slumped into his pillow, dinner tray discarded on the bedside table. "I-I don't m-mea-" Alan sneezed into his hand, launching forward before collapsing back down with a misery filled groan, wrapping his arms around his middle. 

"Oh Allie, it's not your fault, I was only joking..." He comforted as he sat down on the edge of the bed with a sad look in his eyes. He stroked Alan's fringe to the side, letting his hand linger. "This cold is just being very terrible to you, isn't it?" 

Alan nodded, his eyes getting more misty and wet. "It's just k-keeps getting worse…" Alan's voice creaked, his bottom lip starting to shake and tremble. A tear slipped down Alan's cheek, followed by a couple more. 

Alan gasped breathlessly, rubbing his eye with his fist, trying to stop the flow but being unsuccessful as more tears started to make strong, powerful rivers down his cheeks. 

"Oh baby, come here…" He scooted closer to Alan, wrapping his arms around his baby brother in a comforting hug. Alan latched onto him with a little sob, burying his face into his side, his little fists desperately grasping his shirt tightly. 

"Shhh, I'm here... I'm here, shhh, it's alright..." he whispered, gently stroking the back of Alan's head, his eyes filled with sadness and heartfelt pain. 

_Because he knew that this was just the first day of this horrible cold, and he knew that in the next couple of days, Alan was going to worsen._

_The first day was only the teaser to the cold that would follow, and seeing how bad today had been for Alan, he was significantly worried. It was only going to get worse from here on out…_

He sighed, leaning his cheek gently on the top of Alan's head. "I know it seems like it's getting worse and maybe it is, but that's why I got you booked in for a doctors appointment tomorrow sweetheart..." 

_To make sure this was just a cold…_

Alan looked up at him, his eyes wide and vulnerable, making a sound between a whine and a sob. "I...I don't want to g-go out tomorrow, I...I feel too...too sick!" 

His eyebrows pinched together in pain as he looked down at Alan, his eyes soft but filled with so much worry and pain. "Baby, sometimes there are just things we have to do; it doesn't matter if we want to do them or not..." 

More tears fell down Alan's cheeks. 

He sighed deeply, "It will be worth it, I promise…" He caressed Alan's cheek, running his thumb gently across the bottom of Alan's eye, catching a couple of tears. 

All the crying had caused Alan's nose to start running again, thick gunky snot oozing out onto Alan's reddening top lip. 

He reached for a tissue and gently wiped Alan's nose and upper lip, grimacing slightly as Alan whimpered in pain, the soft tissue starting to feel like sandpaper to Alan's sore nose. 

He sighed, throwing the tissue away and bringing Alan close once again, his baby brother's head collapsing against his chest, the medicine starting to kick in, making Alan one tired little boy. 

_One tired little boy indeed,_ he thought, looking down at Alan, who's tears had dried up and who was now looking thoroughly drained. "Come on; I think it's time you get some rest-"

"Hey, guys!" Gordon opened Alan's door with a bang, causing Alan to jump in fright. "We're putting a movie on! I was wondering if Alan wanted to join?!" Gordon asked, his eyes wide with excitement. 

He could hear Virgil yelling from the living room _'I told you not to disturb them, Gordon! Get back in here!'_ He blinked in surprise for a second before frowning, rubbing the bridge of his nose with a tired sigh.

"Gordon, I'm trying to get Alan to sleep here…" He explained quietly, his hand running up and down Alan's back in an effort to soothe Alan after the momentary fright he had gotten from Gordon bragging in unexpectedly. 

At least Gordon had the decency to look embarrassed, rubbing his neck sheepishly. "I...yeah, um sorry, I just…" Gordon looked down at the floor, rubbing the sole of his shoe into the carpet. "I...I just thought I should offer, you know? I thought it would; I don't know, maybe cheer Allie up a bit or something?" 

His eyes softened slightly, his frown turning into a tired smile. "Maybe another time, Gordy, okay?" He suggested as Alan's eyes started to flicker close, the soothing rubbing motion of his hand easing Alan to sleep. "Allie needs his sleep, but I'll join you in a moment, okay?" 

Gordon nodded, looking a lot more timid than he did when he first entered the room, "Okay, sure..." Gordon turned to leave. 

"Hey Gordon, one more thing!" he called, causing Gordon to pause and look at him. He smiled softly, "it better not be another sea life documentary again…" 

Gordon's eyes lit up, "Aww but sea life documentaries are so fun to watch, don't you know that Scotty..." Gordon grinned cheekily at him, quickly disappearing down the hallway. 

He chuckled, glad to see Gordon back to his normal self. _The fish may frustrate him at times, but he couldn't stand to see him down and not his upbeat self._

He turned his attention back to Alan, finding his baby brother on the edge of sleep. He smiled softly at the sight as he slowly and gently shifted Alan into a sleeping position, fixing the kid's pillow with one hand, the other supporting his sleepy baby brother. 

He silently moved off the bed. 

"Jeffy.." Alan muttered softly, reaching out blindly, unable to keep his eyes open much. "Want...want Jeffy.." 

Jeffy was Alan's beloved teddy bear. The kid had found it when he was around four years old and hurting from their parents' deaths. He had been against being it home at first as it had been incredibly dirty and broken, missing most of its stuffing. 

He had no clue where it had been or what it had touched, so it wasn't rocket science to realise why he didn't want his baby brother anywhere near it. Any well-meaning guardian/parent would react with the same concerns. 

But Alan had already gotten attached, and no amount of reasoning was going to change his mind. He remembers those tear-filled eyes that had looked up at him and sobbed, _'I don't want him to end up like mummy and daddy..'_

So it goes without saying _that_ broke him, and he gave in; letting Alan keep the teddy bear on the condition that they were going to wash it and fix it up before he could play with it. Alan had stood in front of the washing door the whole time it was in there, refusing to let Jeffy out of his sight. 

Even when they were sewing the patches on, Alan had insisted on supervising the process, sitting on Virgil's lap as he sewed the bear back together. It was a very much beloved bear…

_(And when it had gotten lost for a week after they had first moved to the new house, Alan had been inconsolable...)_

He smiled softly as he spotted said bear, it had fallen between the bed and side table. "Shhh, he's right here, baby…" he whispered, handing Alan his teddy bear. 

The second the teddy was in Alan's arms, it was snuggled close to his chest as Alan rolled onto his side. He grabbed the blanket and brought it up to Alan's neck, carefully tucking his baby brother in. 

"Sweet dreams, Allie…" He lightly kissed Alan's temple, gently stroking Alan's hair out of the way. "I hope you feel better in the morning…" He silently picked up the dinner tray and flicked off the lamp, making his way out of the room. 

He paused at the door, taking one last look at Alan before leaving, closing the door behind him. 


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! 😁

**Alan pov**

He blinked his eyes open; his vision was blurry as he took in his room. _It was still dark out, the sun having not risen yet. It was still night-time._ He squinted at the digital clock on his bedside table, trying to see what time it actually was.

**_12:43 am_ **

He groaned in misery, rolling over to lay on his other side. _He has been up for the last 30 minutes now, and no matter what he did, he couldn't get back to sleep!_ His head felt like a balloon about to pop, his horrible headache not going away for even a moment, and his nose would not stop running, so he needed to blow and wipe it frequently.

_Which kept him up and made his nose burn like fire._

His throat felt like someone had poured hot metal down it, and it hurt so, so much to breathe _._ And it seemed like he was solely breathing through his mouth, unable to get any air through his swollen nose. 

_And that made it hurt so much more!_ He thought as he broke out into coughing fit, spluttering everywhere as he tried to sit up a bit to lessen the feeling that he was suffocating. His arms gave out beneath him, causing him to collide cheek first with his pillow. 

He whimpered, still coughing slightly. _He didn’t feel well, not even a little bit,_ he thought as he rolled over again, this time onto his back. H _e felt like he was drowning in sweat, he felt so overwhelmingly hot and feverish he was surprised he hasn’t combusted into flames yet._

_But at the same time, he was also shivering from the cold; he felt so weird. He was cold, then he was hot, then he was freezing, then he was boiling, and it started all over again!_

His blanket was discarded at his feet as he had kicked it off a while ago and _he just didn’t have the energy to...to-_

He sneezed into the open air, watching with tired watery eyes as the sneeze particles floated in the air above him, before landing back down on his face. He sniffled damply, feeling another sneeze building before launching forward, catching it with his hand. 

Only to realise that he now had snot all over his hand and face, thick gunky snot running down to his chin. He moaned as he reached blindly for a tissue, wiping his nose with what felt like sandpaper. 

He blew into the tissue, making his ears pop and his head hurt. He could hear himself groan, even to his own ears, he sounded dreadfully sick and congested. 

_Maybe if he could just fall asleep, he'd feel better,_ he thought as he rolled on to his side again, throwing the tissue off the bed. 

_He didn’t care where it landed; he felt too sick to care about anything._ He looked at the clock one last time.

**_12:57 am_ **

He whimpered and closed his eyes tight, forcing himself to focus on sleep and not how terribly sick and tired he felt. _He just needed to sleep; he felt so tired, he just wanted some sleep…_

He felt himself drift off…

**\---**

**_1:34 am_ **

He stared at the number, barely able to think straight as he continued to stare and stare. _He had only been asleep for half an hour, and he couldn’t even really call that sleep._ He had been constantly tossing and turning, on the edge of sleep, but his body refused to let him get there. 

He wailed softly, covering his eyes with his arms as he started to sob. _He just wanted to sleep, why was that so hard?!_ Salty tears ran down his cheek and down the sides of his nose, causing his already sore and swollen runny nose to burn. 

He sniffled, his nose running so much that his upper lip was starting to get really sore as it was constantly moist. He wiped at his nose haphazardly, trying to stop the flow to no avail.

His breath caught, and he started to hitch, sneezing all over himself once again. For the next couple of minutes, all he did was sneeze and wipe his nose, falling into a foul trance of misery. 

He groaned, wet tissue held over his burning red nose. He hesitantly removed it and threw it away, thinking the sneezing fit was over for the moment, but then his nostrils flared, and his breath caught again, and the cycle started all over again. 

As he reached for another tissue, his eyes watering immensely, he saw the time on his clock. 

**_2:04 am._ **

He stared, his hand frozen in mid-air just above the tissue box, his nose dripping relentlessly. 

_He has been sneezing and wiping his nose for almost_ ** _half an hour_** _;_ he realised in horror as his nose started to protect not being tended to soon enough as it began to flare and twitch. 

An unbearable itch built in his nostrils, causing him to gasp and hitch as he desperately tried to grab a tissue and bring it up to his nose in time, but it was too late, he launched forward and sneezed all over himself and his side table. 

He groaned in misery, collapsing back down against his pillow, tissue held to his nose. _This was going to be a long night…_

**\---**

He tossed and turned, unable to get comfortable no matter what he did. He felt so hot and bothered, but he also felt so cold _,_ so he was constantly pulling his blanket back on or removing it. 

He sneezed into his pillow, which turned into a throat tearing coughing fit. He moaned as he wiped his nose, _he just couldn’t win..._

He coughed again and heaved himself up on his elbows, starting to cough so harshly he was almost gagging. He felt like he was going to be sick as his chest rattled with each painful cough, his elbows starting to shake and tremble beneath him.

All of his limbs felt like lead and were getting harder to move each minute he couldn’t get to sleep; he felt so light-headed and weak. His elbows finally gave way, causing him to slam suddenly into his pillow mid cough, making it one thousand times more painful. 

He glanced over at his clock and groaned, covering his eyes with his arms.

_**2:40 am** _

**\---**

Just as he was about to fall slightly asleep, nature decided to call and complain that they haven’t talked since yesterday morning. _In other words, he was bursting to go to the toilet_ , he thought with a groan, clenching his stomach.

He felt so exhausted and so, so very sick and out of it at this point that he was tempted to just go where he laid instead of getting up. It wasn’t like his brothers would be surprised by it because after all, he has a history of accidentally wetting the bed from time to time. 

_And it was becoming a serious challenge just to hold it,_ he thought with a whimper, crawled up into a slight ball, his legs held tightly together. _And he was sure if he didn’t get up soon, he would have an accident_ **_no matter what._**

It was only the fact that he would have to lay in his mess for the rest of the night, (Or get Scott and tell him he wet the bed, either way, he would still need to get up...) that made him slowly sit up and swing his legs off the edge of the bed. 

He pushed himself off the bed, and instantly regretted it, having stood up too fast. He latched onto the bedside table swallowing deeply as he suddenly felt dreadfully dizzy and nauseous. 

He swallowed deeply, almost having an accident there and then, but he was able to catch himself with only a little bit escaping, wetting his undies slightly. But unfortunately, it was wet enough to make the need to go even more intense. 

He whimpered, making his way out of his room the quickest he could, stepping out into the dark, empty hallway. His bare feet touched the cold wood floor, causing shivers to run down his spine. 

He didn't like the dark, and he was suddenly freezing, shivering where he stood. 

_(which did not make holding his bladder any easier, his wet undies were freezing cold against his skin.)_

He clenched his door handle, scared to wander into the dark, but his need to go to the toilet overpowered his fear. 

He leaned heavily against the wall for support as he made his way to the toilet room, navigating the hallway the best he could in the state he was in. _It was like every step he made seemed to drain his energy more and more,_ he thought with a little groan, turning left of Gordon’s bedroom and into a little mini hallway. 

The bathroom door was to his right, adjacent Gordon’s bedroom and the toilet room was right in front of him, at the end of the hallway. The momentary relief was almost instantly replaced with horror as his control over his bladder started to slip away at an alarmingly fast speed.

And what followed was a mad dash to turn the toilet room light on, close the door, lift the toilet lid, get his pants and undies down and do all that before he fully and thoroughly wet himself. 

After he finished doing his business, somehow just making it in time with his pyjama pants and undies only getting slightly wet. He stepped out of the toilet room feeling drained of all of his energy, the adrenaline-filled run having used all of it up.

His head was throbbing from the sudden light change, and _now that his bladder wasn’t screaming at him anymore, all the other things that had been ailing him all night started to speak up,_ he thought with a congested sniffle, entering the bathroom. 

He turned the bathroom light on, whimpering slightly at the brightness of the room. The itch in his nose, which he had started to dread feeling, came back full force and left him sneezing multiple times into his elbow, the world spinning around him. 

He grabbed the door frame to steady him, for a second feeling like he was going to throw up. He sniffled damply, his nose dripping immensely, but he didn’t have any tissues on him, so he wiped his nose with his palm.

And almost started crying as his swollen red nose screamed at him, stinging so much that his eyes began to water even more. He sniffled, _he just wanted to sleep…._

He slowly made his way to the sink, pushing the little stool that normally stood to the side, in front of the sink. He needed the stool to reach the sink, as he was still too small to reach it on his own. 

He stepped onto the stool and turned the tap on, washing his hands with soap like his brothers’ taught him, the cold water feeling nice against his hot, feverish skin. He glanced up at the mirror in front of him and felt his shoulders drop; he looked just as sick and exhausted as he felt...

His eyes were red-rimmed and watery, with dark purple shallows developing under them. His skin was blotchy and covered in sweat, really pale in places but also flushed red from fever in other places, like his cheeks. And the thing that stood out the most, the thing that had been causing him the most misery, was his nose. 

It was rubbed raw, a bright irritated red that stood out against his otherwise pale skin; thick oozing snot hanging out of his inflamed nostrils. 

He stepped down from the stool and walked out of the bathroom, forgetting to turn the lights off as he made his way back to his bedroom in a daze, feeling too sick and exhausted for his brain to function correctly. 

He collapsed belly first onto his bed with a groan, crawling up to his pillow and crawling up into a ball of misery, catching a glimpse of the time.

**_3:38 am_ **

**\---**

The sun was taunting him! Because with every inch it crawled higher into the sky, lighting his room up, was another minute of possible sleep slipping from his fingers like sand. 

The sun rising was concrete proof of how little sleep he has gotten, and his sick body was struggling to function on so little sleep. His symptoms had steadily worsened as his body gave way to the cold virus that was wracking his system, unable to fight properly in its exhausted state. 

He coughed weakly, staring blankly up at his ceiling, his eyes glazed over with fever and fatigue. His nose decided it wanted in on the ‘fun’ and started to itch, his red nostrils getting damper by the minute. 

He brought his hand up as he hitched and gasped, the itch in his nose getting unbearable until-

He launched forward and sneezed into his hand, some of the stray missing his hand and floating in the air above him. He sniffled and instantly regretted it as that triggered another sneeze, this one bigger and more out of control than the last. 

Which was followed by another one, and another. By the time he was done sneezing, his nose was streaming relentlessly, and his hand and lower face was covered in snot. 

He groaned in agony, coughing slightly as he reached for a tissue. He gently wiped his nose and upper lip, whimpering as the tissue tore across his swollen nose like sandpaper. He threw the used tissue away and grabbed another one with a stuffy sniffle, being it up to his nose and blowing into it.

His ears popped and his head screamed, his headache worsening. He blinked wetly up at the ceiling, tissue still held over his nose, a couple of tears leaking out of the side of his barely opened eyes. _He was so tired..._

He sniffled into the tissue, his nose starting to feel irradiated and itchy again. His stomach churned at the sensation, dread filling his entire being as he began to hitch and gasp again, before launching forward and sneezing into the already soaked tissue.

Five more powerful and moist sneezes followed, each getting messier and more out of control. By the time he was finally finished sneezing, he was shaking, and tissue in his hand had almost pulp, completely soaked through.

He moaned as he dropped it off the bed, reaching for another tissue but his hand met thin air. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he sat up slightly and reached for the tissue box, spotting the time on his clock briefly.

**_4:25 am_ **

_His tissue box was empty; he had no more fresh tissues_ , he realised as he stared down at the empty box, his nose starting to twitch and flare again as another sneeze built. He sneezed all over himself and all over the bedside table, unable to cover in time.

He swayed where he sat, feeling so awfully sick and light-headed, in desperate need of sleep but unable to get any. He collapsed back down onto his pillow with a groan, his bottom lip trembling as he tried to keep the tears away. 

His nose was running, and no amount of sniffling was going to stop it. And to make things even worse, he sneezed again, causing the snot to run even more. He rolled onto his side and spotted a scrunched up tissue lying near the edge of his bed; he grimaced as he reached for it, bringing it up to his nose.

Using the dirty tissue wasn’t pleasant; it was damp and soaked already, the moisture irritating his nose as it was rubbed across his nose. But It was better than using his hand, even if it still left his nose somewhat wet. 

**\---**

He heard Scott get up for his morning run a while ago, which told him it was around five in the morning. And his clock confirmed that fact.

**_5:24 am_ **

He would have called out to Scott, _(oh he so wanted to)_ but he just didn’t have the energy, and his throat felt like someone took a razor blade to it, and then poured molten tar down it, so he really couldn’t...

_Everything hurt so much,_ he thought with a whimper, crawled into a ball facing his window. His nose was one hundred times worse now ever since he had to start using the dirty used tissues, his nose glistening with moisture as it glowed bright irritated red. 

He could barely keep his eyes open, and he was flashing in and out of sleep, never able to stay asleep for more than a couple of minutes at most. He could barely move, his limbs feeling boneless and immensely heavy, not wanting to work for him.

The whole act of reaching for a tissue and blowing/wiping his nose, was so exhausting, leaving him so drained. He felt so hot and bothered, his pyjamas soaked with sweat. But he was also getting cold chills, which left him shivering and shaking where he laid. 

One minute he was overwhelmingly hot, and then the other, he was freezing cold, wishing for his blanket which he had kicked off the bed.

_He didn’t have the energy to sit up and get it; he barely had the strength to blow his nose, let alone do that,_ he thought as he broke into a coughing fit, his chest heaving and rattling with each cough. 

_He just wanted to get some sleep, any sleep,_ he thought with a damp sniffle, a used tissue clenched in his hand. He sniffled again, before sneezing into his pillow. 

He brought the tissue up and dabbed at his nose, feeling too weak to do much else. The dirty tissue didn’t really work; it just spread the snot around instead of wiping it up. 

It felt like he was wiping wet sandpaper back and forth his sore nose. His upper lip was feeling the pain as well, seeing as his runny nose dripped onto it.

And he was breathing through his mouth, which was starting to chap and dry his lips out and in turn made them sore. 

He heard voices in the hallway, which sound like Scott and Virgil. _Scott must have gotten back from his run,_ he thought, coughing as he glanced over at his clock. 

_**5:47 am** _

_Usually, six or six-thirty was the time Scott and Virgil would get them up for school,_ _Scott getting up an hour earlier to fit in his morning run_. John and Virgil woke up earlier than him or Gordon as well, but he knew for Virgil it was out of necessity, not a choice. 

_He didn’t know if John was a morning person or not, he was normally gone by the time he woke up, as John had to catch a train into the city and be at his collage by eight at the latest._

He sniffled, before starting to hitch, breaking into a loud and messy sneezing fit, which was followed by an equally violent coughing fit. 

The hallway went silent.

His bedroom door cracked open, causing him to look over with a sickly groan. Scott was standing in the doorway, his hair wet from his morning shower, with a concerned expression on his face.

“Allie, are you okay?” Scott asked softly, opening the door a little more. “You don’t need to be up yet sweetie..”

He blinked, his exhausted brain taking a while to realise that Scott, his big brother, was standing right there, but once it did? His face scrunched up, all of the night’s frustrations and sorrows rising to the surface. 

And he burst into tears, wailing loudly.


	12. Chapter 12

**Scott pov**

His eyes widened as Alan burst into tears, starting to cry like he hadn’t seen him cry in a long time. “Alan!” He cried, launching forward, swooping Alan up into his arms.“What’s wrong?!” He questioned in alarm, sitting down on the bed. 

Alan didn’t answer him. Instead, the kid cried harder, wrapping his arms around his neck, sobbing hysterically. 

He grimaced, biting his bottom lip, feeling so overwhelmingly worried and scared for his baby brother. “Shhh, shhh, it’s alright, it’s alright…” He whispered, his voice shaking slightly as he started to rub Alan’s back. “I’m here, shhh, I’m here…” 

Alan choked on a sob, and started to cough and sputter between each sob. _Alan needed to calm down, or the poor kid was going to make himself sick,_ he thought worriedly, his blue eyes filled with concern. 

He gently made Alan look at him, his hand caressing Alan’s cheek, “Baby, what’s the matter?” He asked softly, rubbing his thumb soothingly up and down Alan’s cheek, his hand getting soaked from tears. “Why are you so upset?”

Alan’s bottom lip trembled, his face all scrunched up and flushed pink, “I..I couldn’t s-” Alan sobbed, more tears falling down his face. “-S-Sleep! I…I’ve been up-up all night, everything is hurting!” Alan wailed loudly, burying his face back into the base of his neck. 

He felt himself gasp slightly, horror colouring his face as he looked down at his crying baby brother. “Oh baby…” He cradled the back of Alan’s head, hugging his baby brother close as he started to rock him gently. “Your medicine must have worn off…” 

He pressed his eyes shut, feeling like the worst guardian possible. “Oh sweetheart, I’m so sorry…” He whispered, his voice filled with sorrow and guilt. 

He had just assumed that Alan would sleep through the night, partly because the last time he had checked on Alan, the kid had been sleeping soundly (or as soundly as you can get with a bad cold), but he should have known better.

_He should have known better!_ He thought with a grimace, looking down at his sobbing baby brother. “Shhh, it’s alright, it’s alright…shhh..” He whispered softly, rubbing his hand up and down Alan’s back “I’m here baby, Shhh, it’s alright, I’m here…” 

_He had been doing this parenting thing for years, and he was still messing it up,_ he thought with a sigh, feeling incredibly mad at himself. Alan was the child he had raised single-handedly (well almost single-handedly, he wasn’t deny his brothers did pitch in at times, which he was ever grateful for) since toddlerhood, and in turn, Alan had become the closest thing he had to a child of his own. 

_And it hurt, oh it hurt, to see his baby like this_ , he thought as he lightly kissed Alan’s feverishly hot temple, his eyes stinging ever so slightly. _It was true parental torture…_

“Scott?”

He looked up, finding Virgil standing in the doorway, his eyes filled with concern as he regarded them. “What’s going on here? Is Allie okay?” Virgil asked, stepping into the bedroom. 

He shook his head. _No, Allie wasn’t okay._

“He had a really bad night, Virg…” He explained sadly as he gently stroked Alan’s hair, his baby brother’s cries starting to soften. “Poor thing didn’t even get a wink of sleep…” 

Virgil’s eyes filled with sorrow at the news, “The poor kid…” Virgil sighed softly, making his way over to them and sitting down on the bed next to him. “I’m guessing his medicine wore off sometime last night?” 

He nodded, closing his eyes briefly as the guilt and self-loathing washed over him again. _Why hasn’t he checked on Alan? He has been doing this for long enough that he should know better-_

“Scott…” Virgil was looking at him with that familiar look, knowing exactly what he was thinking and wasn’t liking it one bit. The look clearly said, _‘Do I have to have this conversation with you? Again?’_

He shook his head, gesturing down at Alan, silently saying _‘Not now, Later…’_

Virgil’s eyes narrowed at him before softening as they looked at Alan, who had lifted his head slightly and was watching them with teary, feverish eyes. “Hey, Allie…” 

Alan only groaned and coughed weakly in response, tears cascading down his cheeks. _The kid was truly unwell,_ he thought with a pained frown, starting to gently rock Alan in his arms again. 

“He looks worse than he did yesterday…” Virgil spoke softly to him, his voice coloured with horror as he laid the back of his hand against Alan’s cheek. “And his fever has definitely gone up…” 

“I know…” He whimpered sadly, his hand resting against the back of Alan’s head as he rocked him. “Speaking of that, would you be able to measure out his medicine for me?” 

Alan snuffled a sneeze into his shoulder, starting to cry harder, “It’s on the bedside table…” He finished with a grimace, pulling his sick brother closer, whispering sweet comforts into Alan’s ear. “shhh, I’m here baby, shhh…”

“Sure, no problem…” Virgil stood up, brown eyes soft with worry for their littlest brother. “It’s normally 4.5 ml, isn’t it?” Virgil double-checked as he picked up the medicine bottle, looking over at him.

“Yeah, that’s what I worked out…” He nodded, continuing to rock Alan in his arms. 

Alan was way too tiny to have the recommended dose that a seven-year-old would typically have, so they had to figure out the dosage using his weight instead. 

It was a lot tricker, but they had a doctor for a Grandma growing up, so they knew the basics…At least he, John and Virgil did, Gordon and Alan not so much, they were too young when she died.

He watched as Virgil meticulously measured the medicine out into the small cup, holding it up to the light to make sure he measured right. _None of them wanted to accidentally give Alan too much…_

Virgil handed him the small cup, filled with the pink syrup-like liquid. 

“Thanks..” He nodded as he took the cup, turning his attention to Alan, rubbing soothing circles into Alan’s back. “Sweetie, It’s time for your medicine, baby…” He gently shifted Alan, supporting his baby brother with his arm. 

Alan blinked up at him with a sniffle, his blue eyes bloodshot and teary. 

The lines around his eyes increased as he took a proper look at his baby brother, bringing the medicine cup up to Alan’s cracked lips. Alan’s nose was looking even more inflamed than it had yesterday, glistening with moisture; his lips starting to follow, becoming sore and dry. 

And to top it all off, Alan had deep shadows under his eyes, a true testament to what a horrible night he had endured. 

_Virgil was right; Alan did look so much sicker now,_ he thought sadly as he gently tilted the cup up as Alan weakly drank his medicine, barely reacting to the foul taste. 

He shared a concerned look with Virgil. _It wasn’t like Alan not to complain that his medicine tasted terrible_ , he thought as he lowered the cup and handed it back to Virgil, wrapping his other arm around his still upset baby brother. 

“You did good, sweetie…” He whispered, gently stroking Alan’s fringe to the side, letting his fingers linger for a moment. “I know your medicine doesn’t taste good, but I’m proud of you for drinking it like a champ..” He gave Alan’s forehead a little kiss, smiling softly down at his baby brother. 

Alan looked up at him with a wet sniffle, eyes glazed over with fever, his head resting lightly against his shoulder. Alan’s nose was a mess, snot dripping all the way down to Alan’s bottom lip. _And it didn’t seem to want to stop,_ he thought with a slight grimace. 

“Hey Virgil, can you pass me a tissue?” He asked, his hand stretched out for said tissue, starting to rock Alan in his arms again, keeping his attention on Alan. “Allie’s nose is all gunky…” 

“Sure- ur… um, small problem with that, Scott,” Virgil replied, sounding unhappy and displeased, “Or well, more of an empty problem…” 

He turned his head around to see what Virgil was going on about, only to see Virgil holding an empty tissue box. “Oh…” He winced, realising the same thing Virgil had.

_Alan had been out of clean tissue for who knows how long…_

“I…I ran out of..of tissues a while ago…” A small spoke up weakly, drawing their attention. “I…I didn’t know where-” Alan hitched slightly, his red nose starting to flare. 

“-W-Where th-the other tissues were, and…and I was just so t-tired that I just been using the…the dirty tis-tis-” Alan sneezed, wet and messily. “-tissues, ugh…” Alan groaned weakly, shivering. “My n-nose hurts!”

“Oh, baby…” He pulled Alan close with a deep sigh, a pained expression on his face as he leaned his cheek lightly against Alan’s head. “Shhhh, I know…I know…” 

_No wonder Alan’s nose was even more irritated this morning, using those dirty tissues must have been like using wet sandpaper. Not an experience he would ever wish on his brothers, let alone his baby brother._

“I’ll get another tissue box…” Virgil sighed, making his way out of the room, calling softly behind him, “I’ll be right back!” 

He nodded as he cradled Alan in his arms, watching Virgil disappear into the hallway, out of sight. 

He looked down at his baby brother and sighed. “Allie, why didn’t you wake one of us up?” He asked, stroking Alan’s cheek with the back of his hand. “We wouldn’t have been mad, sweetie…”

Alan blinked up at him, skin horribly washed out, “I…I don’t know..” Alan sniffled, rubbing at his eyes weakly, “I…It didn’t cross my mind, I just felt so, s-sick..” Alan groaned, pressing deeper to his side. “I…I’m sorry?” 

The vice around his heart squeezed painfully at those two words. 

“Oh sweetheart, don’t be…” He ran his fingers through Alan’s hair; his voice soft and tender. “I should have checked on you, and I’m truly sorry that I didn't…” He whispered, nuzzling his nose against Alan’s hair. 

Alan coughed, “It’s o-okay, S-Scotty..” 

He smiled bittersweetly, knowing it wasn’t okay but touched that his baby brother was so quick to forgive him, _he didn’t deserve it…_

Virgil chose that moment to return. 


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoy this! and well all I can say is poor Allie (and Gordo 😂 you’ll understand what I mean once you finished reading this chapter 😂😈😅)

“Got the tissues!” Virgil announced as he entered the room, making his way over to them. “Had a bit of trouble finding them though but that could just be because I haven’t had my second coffee yet…” Virgil yawns, sitting down on the bed next to him, placing the new tissue box in between them. 

He chuckled softly, grabbing a tissue out of the new box. “Hmmm, yeah, that coffee theory seems plausible…” He commented light as he started cleaning up Alan’s gunky nose, being extremely gentle. 

But even though he was being gentle, Alan still whimpered in pain, scrunching his eyes shut, tears leaking out from behind closed lids. His nose flaring from the irritation. 

He grimaced, noticing this.

“I’m almost done sweetie, just give me a blow, okay?” He asked gently, holding the tissue over Alan's nose. Alan whimpered, looking up at him with tear-filled eyes, hesitating to do what he was told but eventually, Alan blew into the tissue. 

It was a feeble weak blow, a sign of just how truly exhausted and unwell Alan was feeling, unable to properly expel the gunk that was causing his misery. He threw the tissue into the bin with a sad sigh, sharing a worried look with Virgil as he pulled Alan close, resting his cheek against Alan's soft blond hair. 

Virgil’s brows were creased, brown eyes narrowed in thought. 

“Allie, I was wondering…” Virgil muttered softly after a moment, leaning forward with his elbows resting on his knees, looking at Alan with a thoughtful look. “Did you go to the toilet last night?”

He raised a confused eyebrow, _where did that question come from?_

Virgil continued, “Because John said he found that both the toilet and bathroom’s lights were already on when he got up, and I know It wasn’t me that turned them on during the night, and well, it definitely wasn’t Scott-” 

He had his own ensuite, so if nature called during the night, the main toilet wasn’t the first place he would go. _But now he was intrigued, why was Virgil enquiring about the lights being left on, it wasn’t that big of a deal unless…_

_Unless there was something else going on_ , he realised as he looked down at Alan with a concerned frown. 

“-And well...John said the toilet had been a...a bit of a mess when he found it this morning, like someone had a...a little accident..” Virgil chose his words wisely, and he felt his eyes widen as he realised what Virgil was implying. 

He took a closer look at Alan, and there it was, a wet patch _(how on earth had he not noticed it before?!)_ around Alan’s crotch area, all but confirming Virgil’s suspicion. 

_Alan had an accident last night_ , he realised, his eyebrows dipping in sympathy as he regarded his baby brother sadly, who had hidden his face shyly into his shoulder, the tips of his ears flushed pink. 

_Oh, sweetheart..._

“So I was wondering if maybe that had been you?” Virgil finished softly, lightly touching Alan’s knee, leaving it open as a question. “I know you are prone to them when you’re sick, so…?” 

Alan stayed silent, burying his face deeper into his shoulder...

“Allie?” He prompted softly, running his fingers through Alan’s soft blond hair, noticing how tense Alan had become. “Can you please answer Virgil, sweetheart? We’re not mad…”

“Just concerned…” Virgil added.

There was a moment where he thought Alan would continue his silence, but then Alan meekly lifted his head, weepy baby blue eyes looking up at them. “I...I didn’t mean to...” Alan sniffled, rubbing at his weepy eyes with his fist, bottom lip trembling. “To leave the lights on or...or m-make a mess…” 

“Oh, of course, you didn’t…” He comforted, gently cupped Alan’s tear-stained cheek with his palm. Alan blinked up at him, eyelashes wet. “But sweetie-” His voice took on a serious but still gentle tone, “-if you have an accident, you need to come get one of us…” 

Alan sniffled. 

“It wasn’t...it wasn’t a big one, I just w-wet my undies…” Alan mumbled softly, looking down at his lap, his ears now bright red. “I...I tried to get to...to the toilet as fast as I c-could b-but-” Alan sniffled, his little red nose starting to twitch and flare. “-but it just all came at once and-and-” 

Alan launched forward with a sneeze, his nose starting to run immensely, “-I couldn’t stop it, I’m sorry!” Alan dissolved into tears, collapsing back against him with a small sob. 

“Oh, baby...” He pulled Alan close, cradling him with one arm while he grabbed a tissue with the other, sharing a worried and sad look with Virgil as he did so. “It’s okay, shhhh, it’s alright, …” He gently dabbed the tissue against Alan’s little irritated red nose, moping the moisture up. “Accidents happen, no one’s mad at you…” 

Alan hiccupped, baby blue eyes filled to the brim with tears. 

“But sweetheart, sleeping in soiled clothes-” He stroked Alan’s hair to the side gently, resting his hand against Alan’s fever flushed cheek, “-No matter how bad, isn’t good for you…” 

Alan coughed weakly. 

“Scott’s right…” Virgil agreed with a nod, drawing Alan’s attention to him, “sleeping in soiled clothes can irritate your skin, kiddo…” 

Whenever it came to health or medical things, Virgil was the most knowledgeable on the subject. Virgil may say he doesn’t have an interest in medicine and is just learning the basics just in case because _‘You can never be too careful Scott!’_ and while he agrees, there comes a point where that excuse just doesn’t work.

Reading up on things that someone not in the medical field would never need to know, researching medical things that even make him squeamish. (and that was a great feat in itself!) and last but not least, reading and rereading their Grandma’s old medical books, plus any other medical article he finds, like they’re going out of fashion. 

His brother was a medical nerd, and no matter how much they liked to tease him about it, it has come in handy more than once. 

“And trust me, you _don’t_ want a rash down _there_ …” Virgil grimaced, punctuating each word to get across the severity of the matter. “Especially not on top of this cold you have…”

He nodded in agreement and just to bring the message home, he decides to add his piece. “You remember that time a couple of years ago where Gordon had a reaction to his new swim shorts?”

Virgil winced, remembering the incident very well. 

“The one that Gordon said never to mention again?” Alan questioned, rubbing at his drippy nose with his fist, “That had Gordy unable to sit or walk properly for a week or two?” 

_Oh, he forgot about that small ‘never ever ever mention again!’ detail_ , he thought with a slight grimace as he nodded, mentally preparing himself for the possible revenge from Gordon that was sure to come if/when he found out. 

“And do you remember what we had to do to treat it?” He inquired, gently stroking Alan's fringe to the side, grabbing another tissue to deal with Alan’s runny nose. 

Alan thought about it as he gently wiped the kid’s nose, struggling to remember exactly what had happened, seeing as he had been so young at the time. 

He was just about to give Alan a hint when the kid’s eyes widened in alarm, his little nose scrunching up in disgust as he shook his head rapidly to rid himself of the horrifying thought. 

“Ewww! Tha-” Alan started coughing, his chest seeming to rattle with each cough. “-t-that’s c-cream smelt nasty!” 

“Yes, it did…” He agreed softly, a worried frown on his face as he rubbed Alan's back as the kid continued to cough. “And that’s why we don’t sleep in soiled clothes, because we don’t want to get a rash like that, now do we?”

Alan shook his head rapidly, still coughing slightly, “I d-don’t want it!” 

“And that's why you’re going to come to one of us next time, okay kiddo?” Virgil added, to which Alan weakly nodded in agreement, starting to become more and more worn out by the minute, the coughing fit having worn him out even more. 

Alan sniffled damply, “I’ll come get one of you next time, promise…” Alan mumbled, leaning against his chest with a sickly groan, curling up closer with a shiver. “I’m sorry…”

“It’s alright, sweetie..” He pressed his lips together into a sad smile, pressing a light kiss to Alan's temple. “It’s alright…”


End file.
